,transcribed from the #ahga ,george ,p4 ,bacon edition by ,david ,price4 ,no #aa4 ,,biology ,,versus ,,theology4 ,,the ,,bible ,,irreconcilable ,,with ,,science1 ,,experience1 ,,and ,,even ,,its ,,own ,,statements4 ,,by ,,julian4 99 99 99 99 99 8,felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas ,quique metus omnes et inexorabile fatum-- ,subjecit pedibus1 strepitumque ,acherontis avari40 ,,virgil4 8,know1 then1 thyself--,presume not ,god to scan2 ,the proper study of ,mankind is ,man40 ,,pope',s ,,essay ,,on ,,man4 8,if it be possible to perfect mankind1 the means of doing so will be found in the ,medical ,sciences40 ,,descartes4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,lewes3 ,,george ,p4 ,,bacon1 ,,steam ,,printing ,,offices4 #ahga4 ,,contents4 ,,page4 ,,introduction #c ,,part ,i4--,,scripture ,,irreconcilable ,,with ,,science4 7#a7 ,the ,mosaic ,cosmogony #e 7#b7 ,the ,fall #aa 7#c7 ,the ,flood #ac ,,part ,,ii4--,,scripture ,,irreconcilable ,,with ,,human ,,experience4 7,miracles7 #af 7#a7 ,pre-historic ,man #ba 7#b7 ,increase of ,man #bd 7#c7 ,armies of the ,jews1 and numbers slain in #bf battle 7#d7 ,incredible ,statements #bh ,,part ,,iii4--,,the ,,bible ,,irreconcilable ,,with ,,itself4 7a7 ,historic ,errors #ca 7b7 ,erroneous ,figures #cc 7c7 ,misstatements #ci ,,part ,,iii4--,,second ,,division4--,,scripture ,,contradicts ,,scripture4 ,contradictory ,texts #df ,,conclusion #fa ,,introduction4 8,,the myths of paganism10 says ,professor ,huxley1 #c 8are as dead as ,osiris or ,zeus1 and the man who should revive them1 in opposition to the knowledge of our time1 would be justly laughed to scorn2 but the coeval imaginations current among the rude inhabitants of ,palestine1 recorded by writers whose very name and age are admitted by every scholar to be unknown1 have unfortunately not yet shared their fate2 but even at this day are regarded by nine-tenths of the civilised world as the authoritative standard of fact1 and the criterion of the justice of scientific conclusions in all that relates to the origin of things1 and among them of species4 8,in this #aith century1 as at the dawn of modern physical science1 the cosmogony of the semi-barbarous ,hebrew is the incubus of the philosopher and the opprobrium of the orthodox4 ,who shall number the patient and earnest seekers after truth 4 4 4 whose lives have been embittered and good name blasted by the mistaken zeal of bibliolaters8 ,who shall count the host of weaker men whose sense of truth has been destroyed in the effort to harmonise impossibilities1--whose life has been wasted in the attempt to force the generous new wine of science into the old bottle of ,judaism8 ,it is true that if philosophers have suffered1 their cause has been amply avenged4 ,extinguished theologians lie about the cradle of every science1 as the strangled snakes beside that of ,hercules2 and history records that whenever science and orthodoxy have been fairly opposed1 the latter has been forced to retire from the lists1 bleeding and crushed1 if not annihilated2 scotched1 if not slain4 ,but orthodoxy is the ,bourbon of the world of thought3 it learns not1 neither can it forget2 and though at present bewildered and afraid to move1 it is as willing as ever to insist that the first chapter of ,genesis contains the beginning and the end of sound science1 and to visit with such petty thunderbolts as its half-paralysed hands can hurl those who refuse to degrade ,nature to the level of primitive ,judaism40 ,we purpose1 in this pamphlet1 with all possible brevity1 to show that ,scripture is irreconcilable with science1 experience1 and even with its own statements4 ,,part ,i4 ,,scripture ,,irreconcilable ,,with ,,science4 7#a47 ,the ,mosaic ,cosmogony4 ,,it is not our intention to go with any minuteness into the thrice-told tale of the antagonism between the ,mosaic cosmogony and the revelations of geology4 ,that only five days intervened between the creation of heaven and that of man is contradicted by every stratum of the earth4 ,we readily admit that the word 8day0 is used in ,scripture in a very vague sense1 and that even the limiting phrase 8evening and morning0 by no means circumscribes the interval to twenty-four hours4 ,as the sun did not even exist till the fourth of these days1 the three preceding ones could not possibly have been divided by its setting and rising4 ,in like manner it may be admitted that ,daniel's 8vision of the evening and morning0 7viii41 #bf7 covers a period of #b1cjj days1 and his 8seventy weeks0 7ix41 #bd7 may be #dij years1 that is seventy weeks of years2 but all this gives very little relief to the real difficulties4 ,it is not true that there ever was a period like that called by ,moses 8the third day20 a period when the earth was drained1 the sea gathered into its bed1 the rivers and lakes confined to their proper boundaries1 grass growing on the mountains1 trees in the forests1 fruits in the vineyards1 and all the vegetable kingdom complete2 yet no fish in the waters1 no creeping thing on the earth1 no bird in the air4 ,even in the ,cambrian period may be traced the rudiments of animal life2 and in the ,silurian1 long before any trace of land plants can be detected1 certain molluscs were so abundant that the period of this formation has been distinctly called 8,the age of brachiopods40 ,next to the ,silurian or mollusc period comes the ,devonian or 8age of fishes10 when the seas literally swarmed with inhabitants1 and it is not till we arrive at the coal formation that we come to the 8vegetable age40 ,and what were these vegetables8 principally ferns and mosses1 a rank production1 which can in no wise answer to the description3 8,the earth brought forth grass1 the herb yielding seed1 and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind 4 4 4 and the evening and the morning were the third day40 ,but of this enough4 ,come we to the physical features of the heavens and the earth according to the writers of the ,old and ,new ,testaments4 ,the earth is represented by these writers as immovable in the centre of the universe1 and the heavenly bodies are described as revolving round it4 ,the clouds 7rakia7 are supposed to be a solid body sustaining an ocean of water similar to the seas3 8,god said1 let there be a firmament 7rakia7 in the midst of or between the waters1 and let it divide the waters of the sea from the waters of the clouds1 and it was so40 ,this solid firmament1 or roof of the earth1 is said to have windows or casements in it1 which are opened to let the rain fall through4 ,the ,new ,testament makes no advance upon these primitive notions4 ,we are told 7,matt1 iv41 #h7 that the devil on one occasion took ,jesus to a high mountain1 and showed him thence 8all the kingdoms of the world40 ,of course the writer supposed the world to be a flat surface1 the whole of which could be seen from one spot1 if of sufficient elevation4 ,in like manner the solidity of the clouds is taken for granted1 for thrones are set upon them1 and ,christ1 it is said1 will show himself hereafter 8sitting on the clouds10 attended with his court of angels4 ,we grant that many expressions of daily use will not bear a close analysis4 ,thus we talk of being 8charmed0 and 8enchanted0 without the remotest idea of incantation2 and when we say 8the sun rises and sets0 we ignore the active character of these phrases4 ,these1 and hundreds of other words1 have acquired a conventional meaning3 thus charmed means 8greatly delighted10 and the phrases 8rising in the east0 and 8setting in the west10 applied to the sun1 mean simply that it shows itself at daybreak in the east1 and as the day closes disappears in the west4 ,this conventional use of words is a very different matter to the endorsing of vulgar errors4 ,to say that the sun rises and sets can mislead no one4 ,it teaches nothing beyond an optical fact1 and can in no wise justify such teaching as this3 ,the earth is a vast plane1 buoyed up on a bed of water2 and under this water is the region of hell1 where ,satan rules supreme over the fallen angels4 ,the clouds are a solid roof sustaining an aerial ocean1 the fountain of our rain2 and above this is the region of heaven1 where ,god rules as an earthly potentate1 and where are mansions1 streets1 rivers1 and trees1 after the fashion of this earth4 ,it is said again1 if ,moses had written like a modern geologist1 no one would have understood him4 ,apply this to ,newton1 or any early teacher of a new science4 ,what would be said of ,newton1 if he had taught the myths of ,scandinavian mythology under a similar plea8 ,if his discoveries of light and gravitation were not new1 they were no discoveries at all2 but if they were new they were unknown4 ,it is the part of a teacher to teach1 to correct errors1 and not to perpetuate them2 to tell what is not known1 and not confirm the folly of ignorance and superstition4 ,once more4 ,it is said that the object of the ,bible is to teach religion and not science4 ,granted4 ,and the object of an astronomer is to teach astronomy1 of a geologist to teach geology4 ,what then8 ,is the astronomer and geologist free to revel in all sorts of errors provided they do not affect his special science8 ,no one would advance such a plea except for a sinister purpose4 ,but admitting it for the sake of argument1 what is gained by the admission8 ,the express object of the first chapter of ,genesis is to teach science4 ,it professes to tell us how the world was made2 and all its teaching is wrong4 ,the object of ,genesis vii4 and viii4 is to teach history4 ,it professes to tell us how the world was destroyed by a flood2 and the teaching is all wrong4 ,the object of ,genesis xi4 is to teach ethnology4 ,it professes to tell us how men became dispersed over the earth1 and how it is that different nations speak different tongues2 and the teaching is all wrong4 ,it is no justification to plead that ,moses was not skilled in geology1 history1 and ethnology4 ,if he knew nothing about these matters1 why did he profess to teach them1 and why give it out that what he taught was told him by ,god8 ,if ,god is the ,god of truth he can no more teach false science than false morals2 it is equally untruthful to falsify a scientific or historical fact1 as to falsify a moral precept or church doctrine4 ,it is said that the writers of ,scripture were inspired by divine wisdom to write nothing but truth4 ,now either the world was made in six days or it was not2 either the flood covered the whole world or it did not2 either the sun stood still at the bidding of ,joshua or it did not2 either ,balaam's ass spoke ,hebrew and the serpent in the garden spoke the language of ,adam1 or they did not4 ,if these things are not positive facts they are fictions1 and could only deceive as they still do4 ,it is inconceivable that ,professor ,airy or ,huxley1 knowing certain facts1 should write a book and wholly ignore that knowledge4 ,it would be puerile in the extreme if they were to plead in excuse for such folly that they were writing on another subject4 ,the true question is this3 were they knowingly stating fiction and falsehoods as veritable facts8 ,if they knew that man was not made of dust1 nor woman of a rib taken out of ,adam while he was asleep2 if they knew that the world was not made in six days1 but affirmed that it was2 if they knew that the serpent was not doomed to crawl on the ground and eat dust because the devil chose to assume its shape1 but said that it did1 then are they altogether to blame1 and it is a matter wholly indifferent whether they were writing science or theology4 ,so with the 8inspired penmen40 ,they profess to write truth1 to write facts1 and if the words they utter are not truths1 and the events they record are not facts1 it is quite beside the question whether they pertain to the immediate object of their books or not4 ,lastly1 it is said that science at present is unsettled1 and therefore it is too early to pronounce upon the scientific teaching of the ,bible4 ,no doubt there are questions in science still in nubibus1 and others sub judice1 but what of that8 ,because a science is still not fully developed1 is it worth nothing8 has it no voice1 no authority8 ,it is still doubtful whether some of the nebul are unfinished stars1 or stars so thickly clustered together that at this distance they look like a 8cloud40 ,because this question is not fully determined1 must we ignore the fact that the earth is a globe2 that the planets roll round the sun2 that the clouds are due to evaporation1 and rain to a change of temperature8 ,the ,bible says the earth is a plane1 and the clouds a solid flooring2 that the sun1 moon1 and stars are set in the atmosphere between the upper and lower waters4 ,we are told to suspend judgment on these points1 because there are problems of astronomy and geology yet unsolved4 ,this indeed is clinging to a hopeless hope2 it is the obstinacy of a ,gambetta1 who finding no help in man1 dreamt in his enthusiasm that the stars in their courses would fight for ,france against the ,prussians4 ,to return to the ,mosaic notion of creation4 ,the writer tells us that man was made in the image of ,god--a male and a female4 8,let us make man in our image1 after our likeness4 ,so ,god created man in his own image2 in the image of ,god created he him2 male and female created he them40 ,this seems to imply an ,isis as well as an ,osiris1 a female as well as a male deity1 and no doubt ,moses1 who derived his inspiration from the ,egyptian priests1 believed this sexual divinity4 ,but what is meant by 8the image and likeness of ,god80 ,we are told over and over again that ,god has no image1 no bodily form1 and we are forbidden to make any likeness of any creature and look on it as a likeness of ,god4 ,theologians tell us the likeness referred to is righteousness and true holiness4 ,but why say 8the image and likeness80 image seems to point to bodily form4 ,besides1 ,adam was not like ,god in holiness and true righteousness1 for he hearkened to temptation1 and if he was 8like ,god10 it implies that ,satan might delude even ,god1 and that ,god might by possibility fall like ,adam4 ,having made man1 the writer says3 8,god ended his work0 7,gen4 ii41 #b74 ,he made man and ceased the work of creation4 ,strange1 that the writer should say this1 and yet in the very same chapter contradict the statement1 by the 8new creation0 of a woman6 ,the dogma1 however1 that the creative work of ,god was sealed up1 never to be re-opened when man was made1 is in direct antagonism to the whole reading of the rocks4 ,geology shows us worlds of extinct vegetables and animals1 the types of which1 in one geological period differed entirely from those which existed at a succeeding one1 and every anterior period had a flora and a fauna wholly unlike any of those with which we are familiar4 ,there are hosts of creations at every era1 and there has never been a period from the mystical 8,beginning10 when the creative force has ceased from its operations4 ,at one period we see nothing superior to shell-fish and sea-worms1 and for a time the work of creation seems ended2 but another set of rocks unfold themselves1 and show us myriads of molluscs1 especially of the arm-footed kind1 trilobites and graptolites1 stone-lilies and corals4 ,again a change comes over created things3 mountains are upheaved1 but no grass grows upon their sides1 the ocean bed is contracted1 and the waters are tenanted by innumerable swarms of fishes1 for the most part unlike any which now exist4 ,this dynasty of the fishy tribe gives place in time to the 8age of ferns and mosses10 and the lizard race makes its appearance2 but it is not till we come to the 8secondary group of rocks0 that we meet with the fish-lizards and the predacious plesiosaur1 the bird-beaked saurian1 and the labyrinthodon4 ,ages roll on1 ages past all calculation1 and new families of molluscs1 fishes1 and reptiles put in their appearance for the first time3 ammonites and belemnites among the molluscs2 eryons and horse-shoes among crustaceans2 pterodactyls1 teliosaurs1 steneosaurs1 and megalosaurs among reptiles1 with here and there a sort of opossum1 the first type of the mammal family4 ,in the air flew the giant pterodactyl2 on the dry land stalked the ponderous megalosaurus2 in the sea whole hosts of marine lizards pursued their carnivorous instincts4 ,huge turtles crept along the muddy coasts1 and strange fishes swam in the deep ocean2 but no man existed2 no flocks fed upon the mountains2 no birds carrolled in the groves4 ,the lordly lion commanded not in the forest2 the majestic eagle was not the king of birds4 ,the master spirits were saurians1 whose sway was universal2 and this brings us to the third great era1 that of the tertiary rocks4 ,this third series of rocks contain fossils more and more nearly allied to existing plants and animals2 we meet with mammals in considerable numbers1 but by far the largest number of them are thick-skinned1 and1 as a rule1 they were both more bulky and longer in the legs than those which now exist4 ,coming at last to the age of man and existing species1 we still find the work of creation has not ceased4 ,every new manufacture brings forth some new form of plant or animal1 so that creative force can no more cease from operation than any other form of force4 ,if ,god is the ,creator he must create2 there can be no was or has been with deity2 deity must of necessity be always the universal ,now1 the great ,i am4 ,infinite love must always be loving1 for love without loving is no longer love4 ,infinite power must always be potential1 for to remit the potentiality of power is to lose the power4 ,power and force are not latent faculties1 but active only4 ,in man it is otherwise1 because man1 as man1 has a beginning and therefore an end1 and the works of such a creature must have the same limits2 but power1 as power1 cannot possibly begin and end2 if it has a beginning that beginning must be the result of previous power1 which is absurd2 and if it has an end it is no longer power1 which is a contradiction4 ,man is the creature of a day1 and when the day is over it can be said of man he was1 and of the works of man they once were4 ,as with man there is a past1 so must there be a future4 ,to every was there must belong a shall be4 ,man1 therefore1 can be an inventor1 a doer1 a maker1 and cease inventing1 doing1 making1 as he can cease living1 or exhaust the limit of his faculties2 but ,god cannot be a creator one day and not another1 a doer yesterday and not to-morrow1 an agent at one time and not another1 or his works would have a past1 and if a past a future also2 and whatever has a past and future must belong to time2 nay more1 whatever has a past and future must of necessity be finite1 limited1 and imperfect4 ,if ,god is infinite1 the great 8,i ,am10 the 8same yesterday1 today1 and for ever10 it can never be said of ,his operations they once were1 but are now ended2 ,he was once a ,creator1 but is so no longer2 ,his power to create was once active in its potentiality1 but has ever since been in abeyance4 ,every faculty of the infinite1 every act and attribute must itself be infinite1 with no remission1 and no shadow of turning4 ,to say that ,god ended ,his work of creation on the sixth day and ceased from ,his labour1 is to predicate change in the unchangeable1 limitation in the infinite1 rest in activity1 repose in motion4 ,it is to humanise deity1 mortalise immortality1 temporise eternity1 limit infinity1 and make a past to the everlasting 8,now40 ,it is to make ,god a man1 differing only in degree2 eternity time1 differing only in extension2 the ever present a mere now between a 8was0 and a 8will be40 ,facts1 therefore1 as well as reflection must show the untruth of the dogma that for six days ,god was a creator1 and then ended ,his work1 and ceased from ,his labour4 7#b47 ,the ,fall4 ,as a supplement to the cosmogony1 comes the legend of the ,fall4 ,of course1 the object of this tale is to account for the fancied imperfection of the works of ,god4 ,the gist of the matter is this3 ,adam and ,eve were commanded to abstain from a certain tree growing in ,eden4 ,this abstinence was to be the test of their obedience4 ,the devil tempted ,eve to eat of the forbidden fruit1 and ,eve induced ,adam to do the same4 ,in consequence of this disobedience1 ,god cursed the serpent whose form ,satan had assumed2--he cursed the ground1 causing it to bring forth thorns and thistles2 cursed ,eve in her instincts of love and maternal functions1 and ,adam in assigning him the toil of working for his daily bread4 ,over all came the sentence of death3 8,by one man sin entered into the world1 and death by sin0 7,rom4 v41 #ab74 ,according to this legend1 8death is the wages of sin40 ,it was ,adam's apostacy that brought both sin and death into the world1 but neither sin nor death can possibly be due to such a cause4 ,adam's apostacy could not bring 8sin0 into the world4 ,the very act of disobedience is a proof that 8sin0 already existed4 ,the sin preceded the overt act1 was the cause of it1 and the cause must inevitably exist before its effect4 ,it was sin that produced apostacy1 and not apostacy which produced sin4 ,take the case of ,cain3 ,it is said that ,cain slew his brother ,abel4 ,what would be thought of the logician who should affirm that because ,cain slew ,abel1 hatred was introduced into the heart of man1 and that death should follow as a perpetual punishment8 ,should we not reply1 it was because ,cain hated ,abel that he rose up and slew him8 ,the passion of hatred preceded the act of murder4 ,it was malice aforethought1 and if anything resulted from the misdeed1 it was not hatred but contrition1 not thoughts of evil but thoughts of bitter grief4 ,hatred was the cause of murder1 and murder the parent of sorrow4 ,so with ,adam and ,eve4 ,if there had not been already 8an evil heart of unbelief10 there never would have been an act of disobedience4 ,eve sinned1 not because she was innocent1 but because she was sinful4 ,she disobeyed1 not because she was obedient1 but because her heart 8was not right with ,god40 ,the bare act was nothing1 the sin was there already1 and if she had never eaten of the tree1 the thought of her heart would have been sin4 ,it is not true1 therefore1 that sin is the consequence of ,adam's apostacy1 inasmuch as it produced the apostacy itself4 ,by one man's disobedience sin did not enter into the world1 neither is it true that death is 8the wages of sin40 ,below the surface of the earth for the depth of some six or eight miles1 thousands and millions of once living creatures lie buried in the rocks2 creatures which lived and died before man had any being4 ,of these creatures1 myriads were carnivorous2 and one specimen1 at least1 has been disinterred of a fossil animal inclosed in the body of another1 by whom it had been devoured for food4 ,hence1 death existed long1 long before the very creation of man2 millions upon millions of animals were buried in the rocks before ,eve was made of the sleeper's rib4 ,so says geology1 and what is the testimony of physiology8 ,every leaf and blade of grass1 every drop of water1 and even the invisible air1 are crowded with insects and animalcules2 insomuch that not a leaf can be eaten1 not a drop of water can be drank1 not a gasp of air can be inhaled1 without destroying the life of some insect creatures4 ,if1 however1 only one insect or animalcule died before the ,fall2 if by the effect of earthquake or volcano1 the force of tempest1 the rending of rocks1 the slip of an avalanche1 the fall of a tree1 or even by accident1 one animal lost its life1 the point is proved2 for that one animal at least died1 and therefore death was not the consequence of a disobedience not yet incurred4 ,again1 it is well known that carnivorous beasts and birds of prey have an anatomy adapted to their predacious habits4 ,their teeth or beak1 their paws or talons1 their whole structure and digestive organs1 prove that they live on carrion1 and a lion could no more eat straw like an ox1 than an ox could eat carrion like a lion4 ,if1 therefore1 there was no death before the ,fall1 we are reduced to one or other of these dilemmas3 ,either there were no animals that lived on prey1 or else at the ,fall all predacious animals were wholly recreated1 their teeth and jaws were re-constructed1 their beaks and talons1 their organs of deglutition and digestion2 in short1 their entire anatomical structure4 ,a gratuitous assertion wholly incapable of proof1 and contradicted by every animal fossil in the pre-,adamite world4 7#c47 ,the ,noachian ,flood4 ,what we said of the cosmogony we repeat under this head also3 it is not our intention to enter upon this subject at any length4 ,it has been proved to demonstration that no single trace of such a cataclysm can be detected in the rocks or features of the earth2 but all these rocks and all these features bear their testimony against such an event4 ,no doubt the stratified rocks speak of the agency of water1 but that agency was not the deluge4 ,no doubt the gravel and the boulders found so extensively accumulated over the northern hemisphere were carried from their native places by the force of water2 but that water was not the flood4 ,no doubt traces of marine animals may be discovered on every high mountain1 no matter how far that mountain may be distant from the main ocean2 but these fossils were not deposited there by the breaking up of the great deep and the #dj days of incessant rain which fell upon the ark4 ,these fossils extend downwards for some six or eight miles in depth1 and how could a flood of some few months in duration make such a deposit8 ,the fossils of the rocks are all deposited in the nicest order2 those of one period are never mixed with the fossils of another4 ,no antiquarian could sort his specimens with more order4 ,no museum could observe more method in its arrangements4 ,a deluge would sweep down everything in confusion and bury plants1 animals1 and minerals in one common ruin2 such is not the character of the rocks--every fossil reveals the rocks from which it was dug1 and every rock will tell the searcher what fossils he may expect to find there4 ,we are told that the animals taken into the ark were the same as those which existed on the earth when the flood came1 and that the animals preserved by ,noah were the parents of existing species2 but the fossils of the rocks are wholly different to any existing specimens of plant or animal4 ,shell fish are found upon inland mountains1 but not the shell fish of our present system4 ,bones of animals are found far from the native haunts of the living creatures1 but they are altogether strange bones1 and never belonged to the animals of the ark4 ,they are all relics of extinct species1 and amongst all the fossils no trace of man can be detected4 ,no trace of the houses built by ,cain and his offspring4 ,no trace of the iron and brass instruments forged by ,tubal-,cain and his descendants4 ,we find traces of the most delicate leaves of plants1 traces of birds1 and beasts1 and creeping things2 but none of man1 or of the works of man4 ,if the same flood swept away both man and beast1 bird and fish1 reptile and insect1 tree and boulder1 how is it we never find them buried in the same bed--overwhelmed in the same grave8 ,demonstration could not go further4 ,the whole earth from its lowest depth to its surface denies the universality of the flood1 and not one particle of proof can be pointed out in confirmation of the legend4 ,moses says that the fountains of the great deep were broken up 7,gen4 vii41 #aa74 ,he believed that there was a subterranean abyss of water under the earth1 #ad;a and the ,rev4 ,william ,kirby1 in one of the 8,bridgewater ,treatises10 #ad;b actually attempts to justify this notion4 ,it would be an insult to the understanding of our reader to waste arguments on such a hypothesis4 ,it is enough to state it1 and it must fall with the weight of its own worthlessness4 ,again4 ,moses says1 8,and the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth1 and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered4 ,fifteen cubits upwards did the waters prevail1 and the mountains were covered0 7,gen4 vii41 #ai1 #bj74 ,moses says the depth of the water was #ae cubits1 and that all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered4 ,of course the writer was ignorant of that simple principle1 known now to every schoolboy1 that water finds its level4 ,he supposed that it would follow the irregularities of the earth's surface1 here investing a mountain and there dipping into the valleys1 so that a uniform depth was preserved throughout1 the highest hills being covered with a depth of #ae cubits like the valleys4 ,we must1 per force1 believe this1 or we are driven to the more unlikely hypothesis1 that ,moses supposed a level of some #cj feet deep of water would suffice to cover the loftiest mountains4 #ae ,whichever solution is taken1 the inference is the same--that the statement is wholly irreconcilable with science4 ,once more4 ,after the waters had prevailed for about a year1 ,noah sent forth a dove1 and the dove came back to the ark with an 8olive leaf plucked off0 7,gen4 viii41 #aa74 ,this olive tree withstood the pelting rain1 withstood the rush of the subsiding water1 withstood the wind that drove the waters back to their abyss2 but what is stranger still1 it blossomed under water1 and when its head was left towering above the flood which enveloped its trunk1 its branches had put forth leaves4 ,probably the grass was not injured by the flood1 as the beasts were dismissed from the ark to find their own food4 ,strange that trees and herbs1 covered with a depth of #cj feet of water1 should grow just as well as in the sunshine2 but small inconsistencies of this sort are as nothing to the glaring impossibility of the whole legend4 ,many other examples of a similar contrariety might be added1 but the mere multiplication of evidence can serve no useful purpose when enough has been brought forth to establish the point in question4 ,we might refer to the miracle of ,joshua 7x41 #ab47 in proof of the vulgar notion that it is the sun which moves over the earth1 not the earth round the sun2 we might direct attention to ,gen4 ix41 #ac1 in proof that ,moses supposed the rainbow to be a miraculous exhibition of ,god's power in confirmation of his covenant with ,noah2 or we might dwell on the #bnd ,epistle of ,peter 7iii41 #aj-ab7 to show that the prince of the ,apostles believed that the heavens could be burnt with fire1 like the roof of a house1 and the elements be melted by fervent heat4 ,we might cite a whole host of verses to prove that the ,scripture writers believed the earth to be a vast plane with an abyss1 and the whole rigidly fixed on a solid foundation wholly immovable4 ,or we might turn to the physiological notions of the ,bible writers to show that they were no more in advance of the period than their notions of astronomy1 geology1 and general history4 ,they referred intellectual operations to the kidneys or reins3--8,my reins instruct me in the night season0 7,ps4 xvi41 #g74 ,the affections they ascribe to the heart1 and bodily pain to the bones4 ,they believed epilepsy to result from demoniacal possession2 that mandrakes provoked fecundity in women 7,gen4 xxx41 #ad-af2 ,cant4 vii41 #ac472 that peeled withes1 placed before pregnant ewes1 would affect the colour of their lambs 7,gen4 xxx41 #cg472 that ants eat corn and lay up for themselves a store for winter 7,prov4 v41 #f472 that bees can be generated from a dead carcase 7,judges xiv41 #h472 that falling meteors or stars prognosticate evil 7,ezek4 xxxii41 #g42 ,matt1 xxiv41 #bi472 that spittle contains a charm to cure blindness and other maladies 7,john ix41 #f1 #g42 ,mark vii41 #cc-ce42 viii41 #bc1 #bd472 and that the stars exercise an influence on the lot of our life 7,judges v41 #bj74 ,but to enumerate all the instances of contrariety between ,scripture and science would occupy more than all the pages of the present pamphlet2 suffice it to say1 that every false notion of the age is endorsed as an inspired fact1 and no single error is corrected1 or new truth brought to light4 ,we must now leave this part of our subject and proceed to the next division4 ,,part ,,ii4 ,,scripture ,,irreconcilable ,,with ,,human ,,experience4 ,it is not our intention to dwell at any length upon what are termed the miracles of ,scripture4 ,of course they are contrary to experience1 but then they are acknowledged miracles1 and those who believe such things possible satisfy their minds by the persuasion that ,he who made the laws of nature can suspend them at will1 or can introduce some new factor at need to bring about preternatural results4 ,thus1 if any one were to object to the statement made in the ,book of ,numbers 7xxii41 #bh47 respecting the ass of the ,prophet of ,pethor1 which spoke like a man1 and knew the will of ,jehovah better than his master1 the answer would be1 the ,lord1 who made the ass1 could make it talk also4 ,again1 if any one were to say that ,peter could no more walk on the sea than any other man1 the reply would be1 that ,jesus was a divine being1 and sustained his rash disciple by ,his omnipotent power4 ,so1 if anyone were to demur to the chariot and horses which fetched ,elijah from the banks of the ,jordan1 and carried him through the air to that mysterious country called by the ,hebrews 8heaven10 he would be told--well1 ,i hardly know what he would be told1 but certainly the miracle was substantially repeated when the crucified but risen ,christ mounted through the air without either chariot or horses1 and followed ,elijah to the same mysterious region4 ,not a few of the 8miracles0 of the ,bible appear quite purportless1 mere exhibitions of super-human power2 but1 as they are miracles1 nothing more can be said4 ,what end could be answered by that miracle performed by the bones of ,elisha1 recorded in the ,book of ,kings8 ,it is said that the ,moabites were burying a man1 and being disturbed1 cast the dead body into the grave of ,elisha2 but when it touched the bones of the prophet1 it 8revived and stood upon its feet0 7#b ,kings1 xiii41 #ba74 ,in fact the restoration of life is certainly the commonest of all miracles4 ,we have the widow's son restored to life by ,elijah2 the son of the widow of ,nain2 the daughter of ,jairus2 ,lazarus1 ,jesus1 and the many saints which came out of their graves after the resurrection1 and appeared unto many 7,matthew xxvii41 #eb1 #ec74 ,shakespeare was quite mistaken when he spoke of the grave as 8that bourne from which no traveller returns40 ,many have returned1 but what is passing strange is that none have left any record of the land of shadows1 and no curiosity seems ever to have arisen in any living being to learn from these resuscitated ones the secrets of the dead4 ,this certainly is contrary to human experience4 ,if some now in their graves were to go to ,london and 8appear unto many10 they would be beset with questions--questions of infinite interest1 questions of untold influence2 but of all the numerous dead who came to revisit the earth1 not one has left behind a single item of information1 and if we except ,lazarus and ,jesus1 not even the name of anyone has escaped4 ,some are called 8saints20 but were these saints taken from ,paradise1 and sent to live again in this 8vale of tears80 ,one was a ,moabite1 was he snatched from the 8burning lake0 to live a new life and die a second time in battle8 ,it is past finding out2 and truly so contrary to experience1 so altogether strange1 so objectless1 so incredible1 that those who relate such things must bear the responsibility4 ,but if several of the scripture 8miracles0 are mere wanton exhibitions of super-human power1 not a few others are puerile in the extreme4 ,witness that of ,elijah beating the ,jordan with his cloak to make himself a passage across the river 7#b ,kings1 ii41 #h71 a 8miracle0 repeated by ,elisha1 after the ascent of the ,tishbite 7#b ,kings1 ii41 #ad74 ,witness the tale told of ,elisha respecting the woodman's axe3 ,the woodman dropped his axe in the river1 and ,elisha attracted the iron head to the surface of the water1 merely by 8casting a stick into the river0 7#b ,kings1 vi41 #f74 ,witness the petty wrath of the ,shunamite against the children of ,bethel4 ,these thoughtless children mocked him1 saying1 8,go up1 bald-pate60 and the enraged prophet 8cursed the children in the name of the ,lord10 when1 lo6 8two she-bears out of the wood tare forty-and-two of them40 ,in regard to ,elisha1 however1 it must be said that his miracles outnumber all the rest of the miracles of the ,old ,testament put together1 and they are none of them free from serious objection4 ,the whole argument generally advanced in support of the miracles of ,jesus is singularly weak4 ,it is said that miracles were needful to show that ,jesus was the 8,sent of ,god20 that the working of miracles is the seal of the ,almighty to the credentials of ,christ1 as ,nicodemus pleaded 7,john iii41 #b71 8,no one can do these miracles which thou doest1 except ,god be with him10 and ,christ himself endorsed the same plea when he said to the disbelieving ,jews1 8,believe me for my works' sake0 7,john xiv41 #aa74 ,it is notorious that false prophets1 and even ,satan himself1 are said to be workers of miracles4 ,it is said that miracles are performed to deceive and lead astray1 as well as to convince and lead to ,god4 ,in fact miracles prove nothing--neither mission from ,god1 nor approval of ,god1 nor the truth of a doctrine1 nor the power of ,god working in the person who performs them4 ,they are restricted to the ,jews1 and nobody knows anything of the historians who have avouched them4 ,thus the great miracle workers of the ,old ,testament were ,elijah and ,elisha2 but no one knows who wrote the ,books of ,kings1 which describe their wonderful works1 nor whether those records were compiled before or after the ,captivity4 ,the miracles of ,christ are recorded in four ,gospels1 and who were the authors of these memorials8 ,luke was no eye-witness--he himself acknowledges that his ,gospel was compiled from several existing ones 7i41 #a-d72 but we are nowhere told by what guiding power he made his selection1 nor why his compilation is better or more worthy of credit than the originals4 ,mark1 like ,luke1 was no apostle1 and no one knows who he was1 when he wrote1 or where his ,gospel was written4 ,the very fact that he was the ,john ,mark referred to in the ,acts 7xii41 #be7 is a mere conjecture1 and even if admitted would not prove that he was one of those who 8companied0 with the apostles from the baptism to the resurrection4 ,the ,fourth ,gospel1 like the ,first ,epistle of ,john1 is notoriously doubtful1 as ,bretschneider has shown in his 8,probabilia20 parts are certainly spurious1 and the whole seems to belong to the latter half of the second century4 #ai ,we are1 therefore1 reduced to one ,gospel--that of ,matthew--and even of this it may be said1 that no one knows whether it was written in ,greek or ,hebrew1 for no one has seen the original4 ,it is certain that parts of our present text are interpolations1 and although it would appear that ,matthew wrote what is termed the 8,logia0 7or sayings of ,christ71 it is far from certain that the 8,logia0 is the same as our ,first ,gospel4 ,the fact seems to be this3 that ,matthew noted down the discourses and parables of ,christ2 and unknown authors from time to time added to the original work1 till ultimately it assumed its present form and proportions4 ,it must not be forgotten that our present canon of the ,new ,testament was not established till the year #did2 the canon recognised at the council of ,laodicea 7#cfj-d7 repudiated the ,book of ,revelations4 ,the primitive ,christians never refer to any book of the ,new ,testament1 and few quotations from it were made by the apostolic fathers4 ,it is not till the close of the second century that we meet with any definite and distinct mention of ,new ,testament ,scriptures at all4 ,eusebius recognises as canonical books the four ,gospels and ,acts1 the ,epistles of ,paul1 and the first ,epistles of ,john and ,peter2 but he considers the rest of the books as doubtful2 and speaks of others as equally worthy of credit or rather discredit1 such as the ,acts of ,paul1 the ,book of the ,shepherd ,hermas1 the ,kerugma of ,peter1 the ,epistle of ,barnabas1 the ,clementine ,epistles1 the ,doctrines of the ,apostles1 and the ,gospel of the ,hebrews2 all these1 except the first are mentioned by ,irenus1 ,clement of ,alexandria1 and ,origen1 on whose authority our selection of ,canonical ,new ,testament ,scriptures mainly depends4 ,it is not a little strange that none of the books cited by the authors of the ,bible as their authority form any part of our canonical ,scriptures4 ,thus ,joshua 7x41 #ac7 and the prophet ,samuel 7#b bk41 i41 #ah7 refer to the 8,book of ,jasher20 ,moses 7,nos4 xxi41 #ad7 refers to the 8,book of the ,wars20 the ,chronicles refer to the 8,book of ,nathan the ,prophet10 the 8,prophecy of ,ahijah the ,shilonite10 the 8,vision of ,isaiah10 the 8,vision of ,iddo the ,seer10 the 8,book of ,shemaiah the ,prophet10 the 8,book of ,iddo concerning ,genealogies10 the 8,lamentations of ,jeremiah for king ,josiah10 and the 8,story history of ,iddo0 7#b ,chron41 ix41 #bi2 xii41 #ae2 xiii41 #bb2 xxxii41 #cb2 xxxv41 #be72 the writer of the first book of ,kings 7xiv41 #ai1 #bi7 to the 8,diary of the ,kings of ,judah10 and to another of the 8,kings of ,israel20 #bj;a in #a ,kings iv41 #bi-cc1 we have mention of several works of ,solomon unknown to us2 in ,acts1 vii41 #db1 allusion is made to the 8,book of the ,prophets20 ,paul refers more than once to his 8own ,gospel0 7,rom41 ii41 #af2 xvi41 #be72 #bj;b and ,jude 7#ad7 to the 8,book of ,enoch10 none of which form any part of our ,bible4 ,in regard to the ,new ,testament the number of books professing to set forth the words and deeds of ,christ was very numerous1 even when the ,gospel of ,luke was compiled1 and when the canon was fixed by 8uninspired0 authority1 the claimants were legion4 ,the present selection was made by persons wholly incompetent to weigh evidence1 and their only rule was what they arbitrarily judged to be orthodox1 which1 of course1 means in agreement with their own religious opinions4 ,this being the case1 on what does the testimony of miracles rest8 certainly not on eye-witnesses1 not even on the authority of contemporaries4 ,paley says the men suffered persecution and even death in proof of their belief1 but ,paley has no ground for this assertion3 first1 because he knows nothing about any of the four ,evangelists1 and cannot tell whether they suffered persecution or not2 and1 secondly1 he cannot know whether the names attached to these evangelists are real names or not4 ,but allowing ,paley's assertion to be true1 what is gained by it8 ,it is by no means true that a willingness to suffer is a proof of truth4 ,it may be a proof of obstinacy1 of conviction1 or even of cowardice1 but can be no proof of truth4 ,a boy who has stolen from a schoolfellow will often suffer greatly to maintain a lie2 indeed the expression1 8it was worthy a better cause10 is a proverbial proof that men suffer and labour for the wrong as well as for the right4 ,allowing1 therefore1 that the early disciples did suffer1 it proves nothing1 and certainly it will not prove the truth of the gospel narratives4 ,it is now admitted by all biblical scholars that large parts of our ,gospels are interpolations1 some of the epistles are known to be spurious1 and probably the only part of the ,new ,testament at all worthy of credit is that taken from the 8,logia10 or sayings of ,christ4 ,but we have run somewhat from our subject4 ,in stating that ,scripture contradicts experience1 we would wholly set aside miracles1 and limit our examples to matters more tangible4 ,our first observations shall be respecting the ,mosaic account of prehistoric man4 7#a47 ,the ,biblical prehistoric man not reconcilable with historic experience4 ,the writer of the ,book of ,genesis represents ,cain as a tiller of the ground4 ,his son was ,enoch1 who built a city called ,enoch2 and during the lifetime of ,adam lived ,jabal1 ,jubal1 and ,tubal-,cain1 all sons of ,lamech4 ,the first of these was the 8father of such as dwell in tents10 the second the inventor of both 8harp and organ10 and the third a forger of 8every artifice in brass and iron40 ,the ,flood came and swept away the whole race of man except the arkites2 but the grandsons of ,noah were ,mizraim1 ,cush1 and ,canaan1 sons of ,ham2 ,asshur1 ,elam1 ,lud1 ,madai1 ,javan1 and ,tiras1 the founders of the ,egyptians1 ,cushites1 and ,canaanites1 the ,assyrians1 ,elamites or ,persians1 ,lydians1 ,medes1 ,ionians1 and ,thracians2 while ,canaan and ,cush gave birth to ,sidon1 founder of the ,sidonians1 and ,nimrod the despot1 who founded a vast empire1 8the beginning of which was ,babel1 ,erech1 ,accad1 and ,calah the great city40 ,here we are introduced to agriculture from the very beginning3 ,adam tilled the garden of ,eden2 ,cain1 the first earth-born man1 was a farmer2 and ,noah1 the representative of the new race1 was the planter of a vineyard4 ,while ,adam still lived we have tents invented1 musical instruments1 and 8every artifice in brass and iron20 while ,noah was still alive we have the fathers born of all the great empires1 which have to the present day perpetuated their names4 ,is this credible8 ,is it not rather of a piece with the old system of taking the names of places1 cities1 and empires1 and concocting personages to account for them8 ,we all know that the ancient ,greeks and ,romans did so2 we all know that ,geoffrey of ,monmouth has done as much for our own country4 ,thus ,britain1 ,cornwall1 ,devon1 and so on1 suggested the mythical heroes1 ,bryt1 ,corin1 and ,debon4 ,the people or place suggest the name1 and the founder is a mere myth4 ,it is wholly irreconcilable with all the experience of geology and history1 that the very first families of the earth should be founders of empires1 inventors of brass and iron works1 tents and musical instruments1 tillage and vine dressing2 in fact1 the men immediately following ,adam and ,noah were like those which ,moses had seen in ,egypt1 and he never dreamt of a more primitive race4 #bb ,now1 what says science and history of prehistoric man8 ,the earliest traces of which we have authentic record prove that men lived in caves1 not cities like that of ,enoch2 they lived by hunting and fishing1 not by agriculture and breeding sheep1 like ,cain and ,abel2 far less by vine-dressing1 like ,noah4 ,they had small hands1 for the implements found give room for only three fingers of an ordinary man2 their skulls were long1 and their legs more nearly allied to the monkey type4 ,there is no trace in the palolithic period of any such human beings as ,moses describes2 none even in the next period1 styled by ,sir ,john ,lubbock the later or 8polished stone age10 like ,tubal-,cain1 a 8worker in brass and iron10 none like ,jubal1 who could 8handle the harp and organ40 ,long1 long before the 8age of bronze0 dawned upon the earth1 ages upon ages of a ruder and still ruder race lived and passed away2 a race whose instruments were stone1 first rough and subsequently smooth and polished4 ,it is impossible in the present state of human knowledge to determine what length of time elapsed before the palolithic age glided into the neolithic1 but it must have been very great1 and even then the rude life which presents its records to observation shows that man was far removed from the ,mosaic description of the immediate children of ,cain and grandsons of ,noah4 ,there were no builders of cities1 no founders of empires2 but as we ascend higher and higher from the drift1 we trace a certain knowledge in pottery and a goodly skill in working up stone into warlike and other implements4 ,the gallery graves of the earth1 even in the latest age of the neolithic period1 resemble ,eskimo huts more than regular cities and palaces1 and it is not till we arrive at the evening of this long day that we discover any trace of herdsmen and tillers of the soil4 ,all this vast history of man finds no place in the ,book of ,genesis4 ,as the writer of that book knew nothing of the rocks and their mighty revelations1 he knew nothing of man but in the state of civilised society4 ,the one and the other are wholly irreconcilable with the logic of facts1 and deserve no higher place than the wild legends of ,india and ,china1 ,greece1 ,rome1 and our own ,britain4 ,what would ,sir ,john ,lubbock say to the legend3 that ,noah the first man1 so to speak1 was a vinedresser2 that within a century his offspring were building a tower1 the top of which was to reach the skies1 a tower described as a most finished and extraordinary work of art8 ,what would he say to the statement that primitive man1 long before the neolithic or even palolithic period produced the founders of such grand empires as ,babylon1 ,assyria1 ,persia1 and old ,greece8 ,it is an insult to our understanding1 a contradiction to our eyes1 a gainsaying of the infallible records of the rocks1 to place credence in such legends4 ,they are palpably untrue1 wholly impossible1 and as wholly irreconcilable with history and the experience of facts4 #bc 7#b47 ,the ,scripture accounts of the increase of man wholly irreconcilable with experience and history4 ,we shall confine our remarks under this head to three instances--the builders of ,babel1 the age of ,abraham1 and the ,exodus from ,egypt4 ,other instances will doubtless recur to the reader1 but the scope of argument would be much the same in every example4 ,the builders of ,babel are placed about #ajj years after the flood4 ,the general impression left by the ,bible account is1 that the race of man was pretty numerous4 8,the whole earth10 says the writer1 8was of one language and one speech40 ,this would not be said of a clan or a nation1 but must refer to several nations4 ,it would be absurd to call ,sussex or ,kent 8the whole earth10 nor less so to say it was all of 8one language and one speech40 ,it would be scarcely less impertinent to say all ,england1 or all ,france1 spoke one and the same language4 ,but to say that all ,germany1 ,russia1 ,spain1 ,italy1 ,england1 and ,sweden1 spoke one language and used one speech would be far otherwise4 ,when1 therefore1 the historian makes the statement that 8the whole earth was of one language and one speech10 he virtually says there were several different nations1 and a good round number of peoples4 ,the writer continues--8,and it came to pass as they 787 journeyed from the east they found a plain in the land of ,shinar and dwelt there10 and they 8made bricks0 767 and used 8slime for mortar10 and said one to another1 8,let us build a city1 and a tower whose top may reach to heaven20 but the ,lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth4 ,gen4 xi41 #a-i4 ,now1 at the abatement of the flood the earth contained just four men and four women4 ,according 8to experience10 a population under the most favourable circumstances possible may double itself in #be years2 #bd but let us take the increase of the prolific race of ,abraham1 which1 according to ,scripture authority1 doubled itself in #bj years ,gen4 xlvi41 #bg4 ,this would make the entire population of the earth at the dispersion #bef souls4 ,suppose half males and half females1 we get #abh of each sex1 and supposing one-third to be adults and two-thirds children1 we have somewhat less than #dc adult males1 and this was the entire population of grown men in 8the whole earth40 ,these #dc men 8were all of one language and one speech40 ,these #dc men 8made bricks10 and said one to another1 8let us build a city and a tower whose top shall reach to heaven10 and the speech of these #dc was confounded1 and the two score and three were 8scattered over the whole earth40 ,nothing of comment need be added4 ,the next event we would advert to is the period of ,abraham4 ,there were then several large empires and populous nations4 ,egypt had its regular court and standing army2 ,nineveh was older still2 ,china and ,india were certainly advanced in organisation4 ,we read of nine kings who made war 8in the vale of ,siddim1 which is the ,salt ,sea0 ,gen4 xiv42 some of the ,greek states1 as ,argos and ,attica1 were founded2 and ,etruria must have been in its hey-day4 ,this would demand a population of some hundreds of millions at the least2 but what was the fact1 according to the ,bible reading8 ,noah was scarcely dead when ,abraham was born2 some calculate that he had been dead two years1 while others think the two lives overlapped each other4 ,as ,noah was #iej years old at death1 and #fjj when he entered the ark1 we are not left to conjecture respecting the interval1 which1 of course1 was #cej years4 ,there were four men and four women when the flood ceased2 and suppose the increase to be the extraordinary one of doubling five times in a century1 we have #bef souls at the end of the #ast century1 #h1aib at the close of the #bnd1 and one-and-a-half million at the death of ,noah2 say two millions at the birth of ,abraham1 a population inferior to that of ,lancashire1 and only two-thirds that of ,london4 ,these two millions are supposed to have furnished forth several large empires1 most of which would require more than the whole number4 ,again we leave the subject without adding a word of comment4 ,the number of the ,exodus has already been considered in ,no4 #h of this series4 ,it is given by the author of the book as #fjj1jjj 8fighting men0 or adult males2 and if the women equalled the men1 and the children were two to one1 we have #fjj1jjj adults of each sex1 and #a1bjj1jjj children of each sex1 somewhat more than three-and-a-half millions1 say three millions4 ,the increase of #gj souls in #bae years1 although oppressed by taskmasters1 and although for #hj years of the time the decree of ,pharaoh to put to death every male infant at birth1 was supposed to be in force4 ,taking the same rate as that given above1 the #gj at the close of the first century would have been #b1bdj1 and #abd1edj at the time of the ,exodus4 ,allowing the children to be twice as many as the adults1 this would give us #f1gjc as the number of 8fighting men10 or1 in round numbers1 #f1jjj instead of #fjj1jjj4 ,presuming the ,bible text to be correct1 the three millions led by ,moses into the wilderness would require daily for food #c1jjj oxen and #cj1jjj sheep1 that is allowing half-a-pound of food per head4 ,of course meat might be replaced by bread1 but it would not decrease the difficulty to have corn to carry across the ,red ,sea4#bf;a ,as it was #de days before manna was supplied1 the fugitives must have driven before them #a1ace1jjj sheep1 and #ace1jjj oxen4 ,hence there were three million of men1 women1 and children1 a mixed multitude of camp followers1 more than a million sheep1 and #ace1jjj head of oxen to lead in flight across the ,red ,sea1 with the horsemen and chariots of ,pharaoh in pursuit4 ,of course1 on the reduced scale of #f1jjj instead of #fjj1jjj1 all this would be divided by #ajj2 and although there would still remain above a thousand oxen and eleven thousand sheep1 the numbers would be much more manageable2 but the writer of the ,book of ,exodus is responsible for the larger numbers1 and with them only are we concerned4 #bf;b 7#c47 ,the armies of the ,jews1 and the numbers slain in war irreconcilable with experience and history4 ,akin to the above is the extravagant numbers given in ,scripture of the fighting men mustered on several occasions by the petty kingdom of ,israel before it was divided1 and of the still more petty states of ,judah and ,israel after the revolt of the ten tribes4 ,the whole undivided kingdom was nominally #fj miles broad1 and #adj miles long1 less than the county of ,yorkshire4 ,much of this never came into the power of the ,hebrews1 and more than three-fourths was desert4 ,after the division each kingdom was about the size of ,norfolk and ,suffolk4 #bg;a ,let us first take two examples of the undivided kingdom4 ,at the close of ,david's reign1 the number of fighting men is given 7#b ,samuel1 xxiv41 #i7 as #a1cjj1jjj2 and1 after the revolt1 ,abijah1 grandson of ,solomon1 is said to have headed an army of #djj1jjj chosen men against ,jeroboam1 who had #hjj1jjj men under him4 ,this gives #a1bjj1jjj fighting men in two petty kingdoms1 the aggregate of which was less than the principality of ,wales4 ,but what will be said of the sequel8 the #djj1jjj men under ,abijah slew #ejj1jjj of the enemy6 with swords and bows66 #bg;b ,the late unhappy1 but gigantic contest between ,germany and ,france1 makes us pretty familiar with war1 the size of armies1 and the number slain by the most murderous instruments ever used by man4 ,suppose ,gambetta had said #djj1jjj ,frenchmen had slain #ejj1jjj ,prussians1 should we believe it8 ,suppose he had said that #ejj1jjj out of #hjj1jjj had fallen by the sword1 should we believe it8 ,it is wholly irreconcilable with experience1 and most incredible4 ,come we now to an example or two of the divided kingdom4 ,the kingdom of ,judah was about equal in area to the two counties of ,norfolk and ,suffolk1 but what are we told of its army8 #b ,chronicles1 xiv41 #h4 ,asa1 grandson of ,rehoboam1 ,king of ,judah1 had #cjj1jjj heavy-armed troops1 and #bhj1jjj light-armed1 nearly #fjj1jjj1 and 8all mighty men of valour660 #b ,chronicles1 xvii41 #ad-ah4 ,jehoshaphat1 son of ,asa1 had an army of #a1afj1jjj soldiers1 8all mighty men of valour60 #b ,chronicles1 xxv41 #e1 #f4 ,amaziah1 ,king of ,judah1 had #cjj1jjj 8choice men1 handling spear and shield1 above #bj years old10 and a mercenary contingent of #ajj1jjj ,israelites1 which he hired for #ajj talents of silver 7#cd1bjj74 #b ,chronicles1 xxvi41 #ab-ac4 ,uzziah's army consisted of #cjg1ejj trained soldiers 8under #b1fjj chief officers40 ,no such armies as these correspond with our experience4 ,compare the armies of ,europe with those of these petty princes1 and see how wholly irreconcilable are these statements to the plain unvarnished statements of dry facts4 ,we have given one instance of slaughter under ,abijah1 king of ,judah1 and will now add one example of ,pekah1 king of ,israel4 #b ,chronicles1 xxviii41 #f1 #h4 ,pekah is said to have slain in one day #abj1jjj valiant men of ,judah1 and to have carried away captive #bjj1jjj souls1 with much spoil4 ,mr4 ,cardwell proposes to raise our army to #ajh1jjj men4 8,this10 says ,the ,times1 8is more than twice as large as the largest army ever taken into battle by ,wellington1 and three times as large as the ,english contingent of that with which he conquered at ,waterloo40 ,what would ,the ,times say of the armies of ,judah and ,israel8 ,where there is no motive for exaggeration the numbers are much more modest4 ,thus the army of ,sennacherib1 king of ,assyria1 no doubt1 was very formidable1 but it dwindles to nothing compared to the gigantic armies of ,judah and ,israel4 ,the army of the 8great king0 amounted only to #ahe1jjj men 7#b ,kings1 xix41 #ce72 if ,judah could muster its million or even half million of valiant men1 all in the prime of life1 there was no need of a miracle to lay the invaders in the dust4 ,we will conclude this part of our subject with a few examples of incredible statements1 which cannot be classed under the foregoing heads4 7#d47 ,incredible ,marvels or ,statements4 ,joshua1 vi41 #bj4 ,a procession of priests is said to have walked round the fortifications of ,jericho1 and when they blew with their trumpets 8the walls fell down flat40 ,judges1 iii41 #ca4 ,shamgar1 we are told1 slew #fjj of the ,philistines with an ox-goad4 ,doeg1 the ,edomite 7#a ,sam41 xxii41 #ah71 8with his own hand10 slew in one day #he persons 8who wore a linen ephod10 besides 8all the men and women1 children and sucklings1 asses1 oxen1 and sheep10 of the town of ,nob4 ,abishai1 ,david's brother-in-law 7#b ,sam41 xxiii41 #ah71 slew #cjj with his own spear2 but ,adino1 the ,eznite1 7v4 #h71 slew with his own hand in one battle #hjj men 767 ,impossible as these statements undoubtedly are1 they dwindle into insignificance before the exploit attributed to ,samson 7,judges1 xv41 #af71 who1 8with a new jawbone of an ass10 slew #ajjj ,philistines 76674 ,a thousand men laid low by one with no other instrument than an ass's jaw 76672 but the marvel does not end here1 for when ,samson had thrown away his weapon1 8there came water from a hollow place in the jaw10 and the thirsty ,samson drank thereof to revive his fainting spirit4 ,ruth1 iv41 #ba1 #bb4 ,boaz was great grandfather of ,david1 and the mother of ,boaz was ,rahab the harlot4 ,in this brief space is to be crowded all the events recorded in the book of ,joshua1 the book of ,judges1 the book of ,ruth1 and part of the ,first ,book of ,samuel1 a period of about #djj years4 ,take a familiar case4 ,george ,,iii4 was grandfather of our ,queen1 and he was grandson of ,george ,,ii4 ,this exactly corresponds with the text2 but #djj years would carry us back not to ,george ,,ii41 but to ,edward ,,iv4 ,what would be thought of an historian who said that ,edward ,,iv4 was the father of ,queen ,victoria's great grandfather8 ,but the statement referred to is identical thereto4 #a ,kings1 xx41 #cj4 ,we are informed by the writer of the book of ,kings that some of the routed host of ,benhadad fled to ,aphek1 when a wall fell1 and by its fall crushed to death #bg1jjj of them 7674 #b ,kings1 i41 #i-ab4 ,elijah is said to have brought fire from heaven by his bare word1 and by this means were consumed two companies sent to arrest him1 each company consisting of #ej men4 ,jonah4 ,the prophet ,jonah is said to have been swallowed by a whale4 ,presuming it possible for a whale to swallow a man1 no man could live three days and three nights in the belly of a fish1 and then be cast by it on dry land4 ,deuteronomy1 viii41 #d4 ,moses tells us that in forty years' time the 8raiment of his three million wanderers0 waxed not old1 and though marching all that time about the hot desert1 8their feet did not swell0 from the scorching sand4 #a ,chronicles1 xix41 #f1 #g4 ,hanun of ,ammon sent #ajjj talents of silver 7#cdb1jjj7 to ,mesopotamia1 for the hire of #cb1jjj chariots 76674 ,is not this wholly at variance with sober history8 ,is it credible8 ,in the parallel account given in #b ,sam4 x41 #f1 there is no mention of these #cb1jjj chariots of war4 #b ,chronicles1 xiv41 #i4 ,it is stated that ,mareshah1 in ,judea1 was invaded in the reign of ,asa1 by a million ,ethiopians and #cjj chariots 76674 ,these are a few specimens of the unhistoric character of the history of the ,old ,testament4 ,we will add one or two instances of the equally incredible statements of the wealth of ,bible ,kings4 #b ,samuel1 viii41 #g2 #a ,chronicles1 xviii41 #g4 ,hadarezer's army is represented to have been furnished with shields of gold4 ,we read occasionally of some rich prince1 like ,glaucus1 having golden armour1 but never of a whole army being equipped with golden shields4 ,we are told also that ,solomon made #cjj shields of gold for the temple2 but these were mere ornamental plates1 8#c pounds of gold went to one shield10 the value of these was not above half-a-million of ,english money1 they were mere playthings compared to those in ,hadarezer's army 7#a ,kings x4 #ag74 #b ,chronicles1 vii41 #e4 ,at the dedication of the temple1 we are informed that ,solomon 8offered in sacrifice #bb1jjj oxen and #abj1jjj sheep40 ,compare this with the sacrifice of ,hezekiah1 8#gj bullocks1 #ajj rams1 and #bjj lambs0 7#b ,chron4 xxix41 #cb74 #a ,chronicles1 xxii41 #ad4 ,this profusion of wealth1 unexampled as it may be1 is wholly eclipsed by king ,david1 who laid up for ,jehovah about #g1jjj millions sterling 76672 that is to say1 a million talents of silver and #ajj1jjj talents of gold2 in ,english money #cdb millions sterling in silver1 and #e1ejj millions sterling in gold4 ,truly the principality of ,wales could never compete in wealth with this ,pactolus of a kingdom6 #ca ,come we now to our last division4 ,,part ,,iii4 ,,the ,,bible ,,irreconcilable ,,with ,,itself4 ,we shall subdivide this head into two parts4 ,under the first we will bring forward biblical blunders or misstatements1 and under the second positive contradictions4 ,the two former parts of this paper were concerned with the dogma of general inspiration2 this part looks to the verbal inspiration of the ,bible4 ,there surely can be no safe mean between verbal inspiration and no inspiration at all4 ,give up the verbal inspiration and the wedge is introduced which must inevitably destroy the whole dogma2 but if one single blunder can be pointed out1 that one blunder will be fatal to the notion of verbal inspiration4 ,as the errors of ,scripture are very numerous1 nothing like an exhaustive list can be included in a small pamphlet like this1 but every end will be served by the instances subjoined1 which we have arranged in groups1 for the purpose of preserving something like order4 7a47 ,historical ,errors4 #b ,sam4 xxi41 #h4 ,the first example we would bring forward refers to ,saul's daughter ,michal1 who is called in the book of ,samuel 8the wife of ,adriel40 ,now1 ,adriel did not marry ,michal 7,saul's youngest daughter71 but ,merab4 ,michal married first ,david and then ,phalti4 ,this will be evident by a reference to #a ,sam4 xviii41 #ai1 #bg1 where it is said3 8,when ,merab1 ,saul's daughter1 should have been given to ,david1 she was given to ,adriel to wife4 ,and ,michal1 ,saul's daughter1 loved ,david2 and ,saul gave him ,michal1 his daughter1 to wife40 ,during the persecution1 ,david fled from the presence of the king1 and ,saul then 8gave ,michal to another husband1 whose name was ,phalti0 7#a ,sam4 xxv41 #dd74 ,it is1 therefore1 an historical error to call ,michal the 8wife of ,adriel40 #b ,chron4 xv41 #ag4 ,speaking of ,asa1 king of ,judah1 the chronicler says1 his 8heart was perfect all his days1 but the high places were not taken away out of ,israel40 ,where ,israel obviously ought to be ,judah4 ,the kingdom of ,david was divided into ,judah and ,israel1 and ,asa had nothing whatever to do with the latter4 ,a similar blunder occurs in #b ,chron4 xxi41 #c1 where ,jehoshaphat is called 8the ,king of ,israel10 whereas he was ,king of ,judah1 as will appear evident from #a ,kings1 xxii41 #da1 where it is said 8,jehoshaphat1 son of ,asa1 began to reign over ,judah in the fourth year of ,ahab1 king of ,israel40 7,see also #b ,chron4 xxiii41 #b47 ,and again1 #b ,chron4 xxviii41 #bg1 we have the same error repeated2 for1 speaking of ,ahaz1 king of ,judah1 the writer says1 8they buried him in ,jerusalem1 but brought him not into the sepulchres of the ,kings of ,israel10 meaning the kings of ,judah4 #b ,chron4 xxi41 #ab4 ,here we have a very glaring error4 ,elijah is represented as sending a threatening letter to ,jehoram1 king of ,judah2 but the ,tishbite had been 8taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire0 during the reign of ,jehoshaphat1 ,jehoram's father2 and the prophet alluded to should be ,elisha1 and not ,elijah4 ,the blunder arises from a confusion in the mind of the chronicler between ,jehoram king of ,israel1 and ,jehoram king of ,judah4 ,this will be understood by turning to #b ,kings1 viii41 #bj1 where the revolt of the ,edomites1 which preceded the 8threatening letter10 is narrated4 ,the translation of ,elijah is given six chapters further back1 viz4 #b ,kings1 ii41 #aa4 ,matt1 xxvii41 #i4 ,the writer is speaking of ,judas1 who returned the money casting it down before the priests4 ,this money was used for the purchase of a field to bury strangers in1 and the ,evangelist adds3 8,then was fulfilled that which was spoken by ,jeremy the prophet1 saying3 #8,they took the #cj pieces of silver 4 4 4 and gave them for the potter's field4'0 ,these are not the words of ,jeremiah at all1 but of ,zechariah4 7xi41 #ab1 #ac47 ,mark ii41 #bf4 ,here we have an historical error made by ,christ himself4 ,the disciples had been blamed for plucking ears of corn on the ,sabbath day2 whereupon ,jesus retorted--8,have ye not read what ,david did when he had need and was an hungered 4 4 4 how he went into the house of ,god in the days of ,abiathar1 the ,high ,priest1 and did eat the shew bread80 ,the ,high ,priest alluded to was not ,abiathar1 but ,ahimelech4 ,the account will be found #a ,sam4 xxi41 #a-f4 8,then came ,david to ,nob1 to ,ahimelech the ,high ,priest 4 4 4 and said to him 4 4 4 give me the five loaves under thine hand 4 4 4 ,and the priest answered 4 4 4 #8,there is no common bread under mine hand1 but only the hallowed bread1 4 4 4 ,so the priest gave him the hallowed bread40 ,acts1 vii41 #ae1 #af4 ,here again we have an unpardonable historical error4 ,the writer says3 8,so ,jacob died1 and our fathers1 and were carried over into ,sychem1 and laid in the sepulchre that ,abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of ,emmor40 ,this was not ,abraham1 but ,jacob4 ,abraham bought of ,ephron the ,hittite1 the field of ,machpelah 7see ,gen4 xxiii41 #af1 c472 it was ,jacob who bought the 8parcel of a field at the hand of the children of ,hamor ,emmor1 ,shechem's father1 for #ajj pieces of money40 7,gen4 xxxiii41 #ai2 and ,joshua1 xxiv41 #cb47 7b47 ,erroneous figures4 ,these are so numerous it is universally allowed that no dependence is to be placed upon them2 but the instances subjoined are sufficiently striking1 and in any book except the ,bible would be termed errors4 ,joshua1 xv41 #ba-cb4 ,here the writer says that twenty-nine cities towards the coast of ,edom were awarded to the tribe of ,judah1 and he gives the names2 but if any one will count the names set down he will find they amount to thirty-eight4 ,the enumeration occupies twelve verses1 two of which contain four names1 and the other ten verses three each4 ,judges1 xii41 #f4 ,this is a very gross error or exaggeration4 ,the writer says that #db1jjj ,ephraimites were slain at the passage of the ,jordan1 because they 8could not frame to pronounce0 the word ,shibboleth aright4 ,by turning to the census 7,numbers1 xxvi41 #cg7 it will be seen that the entire population of the tribe was only #cb1ejj1 and by comparing this census with the previous one it will be further seen that the tribe of ,ephraim was on the decrease1 but even in its palmiest days it never amounted to #db1jjj4 7,see ,numbers1 i41 #cc47 #b ,sam41 xv41 #g4 ,here we have the tale of ,absalom's revolt4 ,having murdered his half-brother ,amnon1 he fled to ,gesher1 the court of his grandfather2 but after the lapse of three years he was permitted to return to ,jerusalem1 on condition that he kept away from court for two years4 ,at the expiration of this time he became reconciled to the aged king1 and 8tarried forty years10 when he revolted4 ,this of course is a blunder4 ,the whole reign of ,david was only forty years1 and this was towards its close4 ,probably 8forty years0 should be forty days1 but the correction is only a guess1 and the text is responsible for the mistake4 #a ,chron41 i41 #ac-ae4 ,the ,first ,book of ,chronicles begins with a genealogy from ,adam down to ,david4 ,the subject occupies several chapters1 but any attempt to reconcile the numerous genealogies of ,scripture is quite hopeless4 ,let any one1 for example1 take the two tables of ,matthew and ,luke1 and it will presently appear how little they correspond2 or take the genealogy of ,simeon given in ,gen41 xlvi41 #aj1 and #a ,chron41 iv41 #bd1 and compare them together2 or that of the sons of ,benjamin given in ,gen41 xlvi41 #ba2 #a ,chron41 vii41 #f2 and #a ,chron41 viii41 #a4 ,in ,genesis his sons are said to be ten1 in ,chron41 vii41 they are three1 in ,chron41 viii41 they are five4 #a ,chron41 ii41 #ad4 ,one would have thought that no diversity could possibly exist respecting ,david1 the favourite king2 but what is the fact8 ,the ,bible writers agree neither respecting his father's family nor his own4 ,the reference given above states ,david to be 8the seventh son of ,jesse20 but in #a ,sam41 xvi41 #aj1 #aa1 he is represented to be the eighth son4 ,the writer says1 8,jesse made seven of his sons pass before ,samuel2 and ,samuel said3 ,are these all thy children8 and 7,jesse answered7 there remaineth yet the youngest1 and he keepeth the sheep40 ,similarly1 in regard to the sons of ,david1 compare #a ,chron41 iii41 #f-h1 and #a ,chron41 xiv41 #e-g1 with #b ,sam41 v41 #ae-af4 ,if anyone had known about ,david one would suppose that ,samuel would have been that man1 but ,samuel says only seven sons were born to ,david in ,jerusalem1 whereas the chronicler says he had nine1 viz41 7#a7 ,ibhar1 7#b7 ,elishua1 7#c7 ,,eliphelet1 7#d7 ,nogah1 7#e7 ,nepheg1 7#f7 ,japhia 7#g71 ,elishama1 7#h7 ,eliada1 7#i7 ,,eliphelet4 ,it will be seen that the name ,eliphelet occurs twice in the ,book of ,chronicles but only once in the book of ,samuel4 ,the other name omitted by the prophet is ,nogah4 ,now we are upon the subject of genealogy we would direct attention to two other examples4 ,in #a ,chron41 iii41 #bb1 we read that the 8sons of ,shemaiah were ,hattush1 ,igeal1 ,bariah1 ,neariah1 and ,shaphat1 six20 but only five names are given1 so that 8six0 should have been five4 ,the other example is #a ,chron41 vii41 #ad-ae1 compared with ,numbers1 xxvii41 #a4 ,the chronicler says3 ,the children of ,manasseh were first ,ashriel1 and 8the name of the second was ,zelophehad1 who had daughters20 but the author of the book of ,numbers says ,zelophehad was the 8son of ,hepher1 the son of ,gilead1 the son of ,machir1 the son of ,manasseh10 and that no mistake may possibly exist respecting the ,zelophehad referred to1 the writer expressly mentions that it was the ,zelophehad who had 8the daughters40 7,see verse #g47 #a ,chron41 vi41 #eg-fj4 ,here the chronicler enumerates the cities given to ,aaron1 and says3 8,all their cities were #ac20 but according to the list subjoined the number should have been eleven4 #b ,chron41 xxi41 #bj4 ,we are told that ,jehoram at death was #dj years old4 8,he was #cb when he began to reign1 and reigned eight years40 ,next chapter xxii41 #b we are told that his son1 who immediately succeeded him1 was #db years old when he began to reign2 so that ,ahaziah was two years older than his father4 ,what makes the blunder worse is this3 ,ahaziah was the youngest of several children #b ,chron41 xxi41 #ag #cf2 but the blunders do not end even here1 for we are furthermore informed #b ,chron41 xxii41 #h that ,jehu 8slew the ,princes of ,judah even the sons of the brethren of ,ahaziah10 i4e41 the grandsons of ,jehoram4 ,the number thus slain was #db #b ,kings1 x41 #ac-ad1 only the author of the book of ,kings does not call them grandsons1 but 8brethren of ,ahaziah40 ,let whichever of these records be accepted1 the error is equally palpable4 ,if the princes slain by ,jehu were the brothers of ,ahaziah1 then ,jehoram1 who died at the age of #dj1 had #dc sons1 the youngest of which was #db years old at his father's death4 ,if1 on the other hand1 the princes referred to were the grandchildren of ,jehoram1 then had he #db grandsons at the age of #dj4 #b ,chron41 xxviii41 #g4 ,this is another example similar to the one above4 ,zichri1 we are told1 was 8a mighty man of ,ephraim10 and he 8slew ,maaseiah1 the son of king ,ahaz40 ,in the #ast verse of the chapter we are informed that 8,ahaz was #bj years old when he began to reign1 and he reigned #af years20 so that his age at death was #cf1 and he was succeeded by ,hezekiah1 his son4 ,the next chapter #b ,chron41 xxix1 #a opens thus--8,hezekiah began to reign when he was #be years old20 so that ,ahaz at the age of #bj1 had at least two sons1 one of which was grown to man's estate1 and the other was half the age of his father4 ,we read of early marriages1 but it is most unusual for any father to have a son at the early age of four or five1 and it is more likely that the chronicler is in error than that such an event should be rigidly true4 #b ,chron41 xxxiv41 #a4 ,a similar statement is made respecting ,josiah1 who had four sons1 and at least two wives before he was #af4 ,his four sons were ,johanan1 ,jehoiakim1 ,zedekiah1 and ,shallum #a ,chron41 iii41 #ae4 ,shallum1 his youngest son1 succeeded him ,jer4 xxii41 #aa2 this young man was also called ,jehoahaz1 if the author of the book of ,chronicles may be relied on #b ,chron41 xxxvi41 #b4 ,he was #bc years old at his father's death1 and as ,josiah died at the age of #ci1 ,shallum was born when his father was #af #b ,chron41 xxxiv41 #a4 ,he reigned only three months1 and was then succeeded by ,jehoiakim1 an elder brother1 who was #be years old #b ,kings1 xxiii41 #cj2 so that ,josiah was only #ad when his second son was born4 ,his eldest son ,johanan must have been above #bf years of age1 and this would make ,josiah under #ac at the birth of his first-born4 ,now1 the age of hundreds of persons have been given in the ,bible1 but no single example can be found to induce a belief that the ,jews were precocious fathers4 ,we never find it said that so and so was #d or #e1 #aj or #ab years old1 and begat sons and daughters4 ,the age stated is about the same as with ourselves1 and there is every reason to believe that the instances referred to above are oversights4 ,ezra i41 #g-aa4 ,this shall be the last example under this division of our subject1 though far more remains behind than we have here brought under notice4 ,in this passage ,ezra gives the number of gold and silver vessels restored by ,cyrus4 ,they are the sacred vessels carried by ,nebuchadnezzar into ,babylon1 and the number restored is estimated at #e1djj2 but the articles specified amount to only #b1dii4 ,there were #cj gold chargers1 and #cj gold basins1 #a1jjj silver chargers1 with #a1jjj other vessels in silver1 #daj silver basins1 and #bi knives4 ,the deficiency1 therefore1 is #bija4 ,this miscalculation is sufficiently strange1 but the statement becomes infinitely more astounding when we read the account given us in the book of ,kings respecting the spoliation of these vessels #b ,kings1 xxiv41 #ac4 ,it is said that ,nebuchadnezzar 8cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which ,solomon had made40 ,this was in the reign of ,coniah or ,jehoiachin4 ,in the #aith year of ,nebuchadnezzar1 in the reign of ,zedekiah the captain of the ,babylonian army 8broke in pieces0 the brazen vessels1 but took the brass2 and he broke in pieces the gold and silver vessels1 but took the gold and silver with him to ,babylon4 ,so that the gold and silver vessels were twice reduced to metal #b ,kings1 xxv41 #ac-af4 ,jeremiah lii41 #ag-bc enters into minute details4 ,these vessels seem to have possessed a wonderful recreative power4 ,they were always being taken away to supply a temporary want of money1 yet were always in the temple ready for a new spoliation4 7#a7 ,shishak1 king of ,egypt1 in the #eth year of king ,rehoboam1 8took away the treasures of the house of the ,lord2 he even took away all2 and he took away all the shields of gold which ,solomon had made0 #a ,kings1 xiv41 #be-bf4 7#b7 ,asa followed the example of ,shishak1 for he also 8took all the silver and gold left in the treasures of the house of the ,lord0 to give to ,benhadad king of ,syria4 #a ,kings1 xv41 #ah4 7#c7 ,jehoash1 king of ,judah1 could not take away ,solomon's vessels of gold and silver1 because they were gone already1 but he 8took all the hallowed things that ,jehoshaphat1 ,jehoram1 and ,ahaziah had dedicated1 and his own hallowed things1 and all the gold found in the treasures of the house of the ,lord 4 4 4 and sent it to ,hazael king of ,syria40 #b ,kings1 xii4 #ah4 7#d7 ,jehoash1 king of ,israel1 also 8took all the gold and silver1 and all the vessels found in the house of the ,lord10 and returned to ,samaria with his spoils4 #b ,kings1 xiv41 #ad4 7#e7 ,ahaz1 king of ,judah1 wanted money1 and followed the example of his predecessors1 for he also 8took the silver and the gold found in the house of the ,lord10 and sent it to the king of ,assyria4 #b ,kings1 xvi41 #h4 7#f7 ,we have not to tarry long before we come to ,hezekiah1 who 8gave the king of ,assyria all the silver found in the house of the ,lord10 and 8cut off the gold from the doors and pillars to give to the king of ,assyria40 #b ,kings1 xviii41 #ae-af4 7#g7 ,once more the temple was spoiled1 before we come to the final spoliations by the king of ,babylon1 in the #hth year of ,jehoiachim king of ,judah4 ,this has been alluded to already4 ,it will be observed that it is not always said that the vessels were taken out of the temple1 but in several of the spoliations it is said simply that the treasures were taken out of the house of the ,lord2 by turning1 however1 to #a ,kings1 vii41 #ea1 it will be seen that the 8treasures0 include the vessels1 for we are told that 8the silver1 and the gold1 and the vessels1 did ,solomon put among the treasures of the house of the ,lord40 ,hence ,shishak took away all the treasures of the temple1 all the silver and the gold and the vessels that ,solomon had placed there4 ,if all in this case means less than all we have ,asa to follow1 who took away 8all that was left40 ,jehoshaphat1 ,jehoram1 ,ahaziah1 and ,jehoash1 made new vessels and hallowed things1 but ,jehoash gave all these to ,hazael king of ,syria2 and though all the treasures were given away already1 the king of ,israel makes a raid on the temple and carries off to ,samaria 8all the vessels0 both of silver and of gold2 ,ahaz does the same2 ,hezekiah takes all the silver vessels and cuts off all the gold ornaments of the doors and pillars4 ,after this comes ,nebuchadnezzar1 who finds all the vessels of ,solomon somehow still treasured in the temple1 and seizing on them he cuts them to pieces1 but they are not yet destroyed nor even lost1 for some #aj or #aa years afterwards ,nebuzzar-adan1 captain of the guard of the king of ,babylon1 lays his hand on the sacred vessels1 and took them 8in gold and in silver0 to ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,ezra tells us the number amounted to #edjj1 but how they could be given to so many1 cut to pieces and repaired1 sent to ,assyria1 ,samaria1 and ,syria1 yet be all wonderfully found safe and sound in a temple in ,babylon1 is1 to say the least1 past understanding4 ,come we now to another class of errors4 7c47 ,misstatements4 ,exod4 vi41 #c4 ,god is represented as saying3 8,i appeared unto ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob1 by the name ,god ,almighty ,el ,shadday1 but by my name ,,jehovah was ,i not known to them40 ,now the name ,jehovah occurs over and over again in the ,book of ,genesis1 and has given rise to the ,jehovistic and ,elohistic controversy1 made familiar to ,english readers by ,bishop ,colenso4 ,abraham1 we are told1 built an altar to ,jehovah near ,bethel ,gen4 xii4 #h41 and another in ,hebron ,gen4 xiii41 #ah4 but stranger still1 when the sacrifice of ,isaac was stopped1 the patriarch called the spot ,jehovah-,jireh ,gen4 xxii4 #ad4 ,how could he call it so1 if the very name ,jehovah was unknown to him8 ,exod4 xvii41 #h-ac4 ,the children of ,israel had scarcely entered the 8wilderness0 when the ,amalekites came to oppose them4 ,a severe battle ensued1 in which the ,israelites were at first worsted1 but ultimately the foe was 8put to the sword40 ,the whole history leads to the belief that the people left ,egypt unarmed4 ,they were slaves1 and it is not at all likely that ,pharaoh would have suffered #fjj1jjj slaves to carry swords4 ,it is very true that our ,english version says 8the children of ,israel went up harnessed out of the land of ,egypt0 ,exod4 xiii41 #ah41 but the marginal reading is 8by five in a rank10 which seems the more probable4 ,no time was given for preparation1 for the people were 8urgent to send them away in haste10 they had not even time to prepare food before they left1 but 8took their dough before it was leavened0 ,exod4 xii41 #cd4 ,having crossed the ,red ,sea1 they would have no opportunity of procuring swords1 so that this battle must remain a mystery4 #a ,sam4 xvii41 #ed4 ,here we are told that ,david1 having cut off the head of ,goliath1 8carried it to ,jerusalem40 ,how could this be1 seeing that ,jerusalem at the time was in the hand of the ,jebusites1 and did not fall into the hand of the ,israelites till several years afterwards8 ,when ,david slew the giant he was a mere stripling1 say #ae or #af years of age1 but when he took ,jerusalem from the ,jebusites he was above #cj4 #b ,sam4 v41 #f4 #b ,sam4 vii41 #ab1 #ac1 #af4 ,the prophet ,nathan is commanded by ,god to say that the ,lord 8will set up his seed after him1 and establish the kingdom of ,david for ever20 and again 8thine house and thy kingdom10 says ,nathan1 8shall be established for ever1 thy throne shall be established for ever40 ,what is the fact8 ,solomon reigned #dj years1 but towards the close of his reign1 sat on a very tottering throne2 no sooner did ,rehoboam succeed than #aj parts out of #ab revolted2 and in #chj years more the kingdom of ,judah had ceased to exist2 so that the repeated promise of ,nathan that the kingdom should endure for ever proved altogether a failure4 ,jeremiah1 xxxv41 #ah1 #ai4 ,precisely the same promise was made to the ,rechabites1 with precisely the same results3 8,thus saith the ,lord of hosts1 the ,god of ,israel1 because ye have obeyed the commandment of ,jonadab your father to drink no wine1 ,jonadab1 the son of ,rechab1 shall not want a man to stand before me for ever40 ,great efforts have been made to show that the ,rechabites still exist2 but ,i apprehend that few scholars will place any reliance on the conflicting accounts4 ,brett professes they are in ,hungary2 ,niebuhr says they are in ,medina2 the 8,bible ,cyclopdia0 asserts that they live in ,mecca2 the missionary ,wolff maintains that they live near ,jerusalem2 ,signor ,pierotti affirms that he found them in the vicinity of the ,dead ,sea4 #a ,kings1 xxii41 #ai-bc2 #b ,chron4 xviii41 #bb4 ,we are here told that ,god himself sent lying spirits into ,his prophets1 not by way of punishment1 but in order to mislead2 so that1 admitting certain books to have been written by prophets1 and even that ,god sent ,his 8spirit0 to inspire them1 it by no means follows that the books are worthy of credit4 ,it is not enough to be a prophet1 it is not enough to be moved by the spirit1 it is not enough that the spirit comes from ,god1 we must ourselves decide the all important question whether the spirit is a 8lying spirit0 or the 8spirit of truth40 ,the two kings ,ahab and ,jehoshaphat enquired of the prophets whether or not they should make war against the ,syrians1 #djj prophets agreed in the answer1 go1 for 8the ,lord will deliver them into your hands40 ,nothing could be plainer1 nothing more decisive2 but ,michaiah says1 don't believe the prophets1 8for the ,lord has put a lying spirit into all their mouths0 to compass the destruction of the two kings4 ,here were #djj who said 8go10 and one who said 8no10 the prophets have been deceived by a spirit of falsehood4 ,is it at all credible that the ,god of truth would employ spirits of untruth to go upon his missions8 ,how can it be said that ,god abhors lies when he employs lying spirits as his ministers8 ,but1 without doubt1 the lying prophet is recognised in ,scripture1 for besides these #djj we have the lamentable tale of the old prophet of ,bethel1 who told the prophet of ,judah to go home with him1 declaring that the ,lord had sent him1 but 8he lied10 and the prophet of ,judah was slain by a lion for trusting the word of his brother prophet #a ,kings1 xiii41 #ah4 ,there is an inconsistency in all this revolting to common sense2 and so1 indeed1 is there in the notion of the parliament referred to in the book of ,job ii41 #a1 8there is a day when the sons of ,god present themselves before ,jehovah1 and ,satan is present amongst them10 and ,god speaks to ,satan and employs him to do ,his bidding4 ,paul says there is no fellowship between ,god and ,belial1 light and darkness1 and he is right4 #b ,kings1 iii41 #ae-bj4 ,elisha said to the king of ,israel1 8,the ,lord will deliver the ,moabites into your hands10 and that ,israel should smite 8every fenced city of ,moab1 and every choice city40 ,none of this prophecy came true1 and why8 ,because the king of ,moab1 when 8he saw the battle was too sore for him1 sacrificed his eldest son on the wall for a burnt offering40 ,the ,israelites1 seeing this1 were panic struck1 fled1 and left the prophecy unfulfilled see verses #bf1 #bg1 #b ,chron4 xvi41 #a4 ,there is some great mistake here4 8,in the thirty-sixth year of the reign of ,asa10 says the chronicler1 8,baasha1 ,king of ,israel1 came up against ,judah1 and built ,ramah20 but what says the book of ,kings8 8,in the third year of ,asa1 ,king of ,judah1 began ,baasha to reign over ,israel1 and he reigned twenty-four years0 #a ,kings1 xv41 #cc2 if this latter statement is correct ,baasha died in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of ,asa1 and could not have waged war against him nine years afterwards4 ,dan4 i41 #a4 ,the writer says that ,nebuchadnezzar1 king of ,babylon1 laid siege to ,jerusalem in the third year of ,jehoiakim2 but ,jeremiah says xxv41 #a4 that the fourth year of ,jehoiakim was the first of ,nebuchadnezzar's reign4 ,so that he was not king at all in the 8#crd year of ,jehoiakim40 ,matt41 i41 #ag4 ,matthew says1 8all the generations from ,abraham to ,david are fourteen2 and from ,david to the captivity are fourteen2 and from the captivity to the birth of ,christ are fourteen40 ,this is true in no sense4 ,the 8periods0 are quite unequal in length2 the 8genealogies0 are not alike in number2 and fourteen in no case is correct4 ,according to ,bible chronology the first period was #iaa years1 the second #dig1 and the third #ehd4 ,john1 i41 #ah4 ,the evangelist says--8,no man hath seen ,god at any time20 similarly we read in ,exodus xxxiii41 #bj1 8,there shall no man see my face and live40 ,how does this agree with ,gen4 xxxii41 #bd-cj1 where ,jacob is said to have wrestled all night with a mysterious being1 and 8called the name of the place ,peniel1 for ,i have seen ,god face to face1 and my life is preserved40 ,sarah also 8looked upon ,god0 when she was told that her husband would have a son ,gen4 xvi41 #ac4 ,moses1 ,aaron1 ,nadab1 and ,abihu1 with the #gj elders of ,israel 8saw the ,god of ,israel 4 4 4 they saw ,god1 and did eat and drink0 ,exod4 xxiv41 #i-aa4 ,moses was on two occasions #dj days with ,god1 and saw his 8similitude10 and spake to him 8mouth to mouth0 ,numbers1 xii41 #h4 ,numerous other instances will occur to every reader2 if anything is revealed in ,scripture more positively than another1 it is that ,god has appeared to many1 from ,adam to ,john1 talked to them familiarly1 and they have lived4 ,john1 xxi41 #be4 ,john says1 8,there are also many other things which ,jesus did1 the which1 if they should be written every one1 ,i suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written40 ,i will not go this length respecting the mis-statements and errors of ,scripture2 but it would be no exaggeration to say1 if all were written down1 this pamphlet would not contain them4 999999 ,we will conclude this part of our subject with one or two errors of a different sort4 ,deut4 i41 #a4 ,the writer says--8,these are the words which ,moses spake to all ,israel on this side ,jordan1 in the plain over against the ,red ,sea40 ,at the time he was as near ,jordan1 and about as far from the ,red ,sea as he well could be4 ,the expression 8,on this side ,jordan0 means in this verse east of the river1 but after the ,israelites had come into the lot of their inheritance1 8this side ,jordan0 meant west of the river1 and east of it was called 8beyond ,jordan0 ,joshua1 ix41 #a1 #aj4 ,judges1 vii41 #c4 ,this is another geographical error4 ,it is stated that ,gideon ordered it to be proclaimed throughout his host that all who had no stomach for the pending fight with the ,midianites were at liberty to depart early from ,mount ,gilead4 ,now1 the encampment of ,gideon was in the valley of ,jezreel1 west of the ,jordan2 whereas ,mount ,gilead is beyond ,jordan1 far away from the site of the battle4 #b ,chron4 xx41 #ce-cg4 ,this is a third example of geographical confusion1 similar to those marvellous blunders of old ,homer4 ,the chronicler says that ,jehoshaphat built ships in 8,ezion-gaber to go to ,tarshish40 ,ezion-gaber was a harbour in the ,red ,sea1 and ,tarshish is generally supposed to be ,tartessus1 the famous ,phnician emporium near the mouth of the ,guadalquiver1 and not far from the modern ,cadiz4 ,it was far more than the navigators of ,jewry could have accomplished to sail from the ,red ,sea to ,spain1 and certainly ,jehoshaphat would not have chosen that harbour for building ships for the ,mediterranean4 ,prov4 vi41 #f-h2 xxx41 #be4 ,solomon says3 8,go to the ant1 thou sluggard--which provideth her meat in the summer1 and gathereth her food in the harvest40 ,no doubt it was a vulgar error of very wide diffusion that ants feed upon corn1 and lay up a store of grain in harvest time for winter use4 ,pliny1 lian1 ,ovid1 ,virgil1 ,horace1 #dd and several in our own country1 have endorsed the instruction of ,solomon1 but what is the real fact8 ,in the first place1 ants are dormant in winter2 and in the next place1 they do not feed upon corn1 but chiefly on animal food4 ,what ,solomon and others supposed to be grains of corn are in reality the cocoons which they bring out of their nests in fine weather to air1 and after they have exposed them to the sun they carry them back again4 ,efforts have been made to prove that there is a species of ant which lives on grain2 but even if such could be found1 it is not the exception1 but the rule which must characterise the animal4 ,no one would say to a person1 you are 8white as a rose10 or 8black as a cherry20 though there are white roses and black cherries4 ,in all proverbial expressions and general allusions1 the ordinary character is referred to1 and not the exceptions4 ,matt1 xiii41 #ca1 #cb2 ,mark1 iv41 #ca1 #cb4 ,jesus said3 8,a grain of mustard-seed 4 4 4 is the least of all seeds1 but when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs1 and becometh a tree1 so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof40 ,it is not correct that the 8grain of mustard is the least of all seeds40 ,many seeds are smaller1 as that of the foxglove and tobacco plant2 nor is it correct that mustard anywhere grows into a tree1 8so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof40 ,the exaggeration in the corresponding verse of the second ,gospel is even greater than that of ,matthew4 ,mark says3 8,it is less than any of the seeds that be sown in the earth 4 4 4 but becometh greater than all herbs1 and shooteth out great branches40 ,here1 again1 critics have come forward to prove that the mustard seed of the text was not mustard seed1 but something else4 ,some one fancies he has discovered a seed which better answers the description1 and says ,jesus did not mean mustard1 but the seed of the critic4 ,such puerile defence does more harm than good4 ,moses did not mean 8six days0 by six days2 ,joshua did not mean that the 8sun was to stand still10 when he commanded it so to do2 ,solomon did not mean 8ants0 by ants2 nor ,jesus1 8mustard-seed0 by mustard seed4 ,in fact1 words have no meaning1 but may be fitted with a sliding scale to fit the wishes and knowledge of every reader4 ,the dishonesty of this practice is palpable1 and any system which needs such shoring should be suffered to fall through its own weakness4 #a ,chron4 iv41 #ag2 and #a ,chron4 vii41 #ad4 ,being on the subject of blunders1 we would commend our readers to the two verses referred to above--8,the sons of ,ezra were ,jether1 ,mered 4 4 4 and ,jalon2 and she bare ,miriam1 ,shammai1 and ,ishbah40 ,again4 8,the sons of ,manasseh were ,ashriel1 whom she bare 4 4 4 and the name of the second was ,zelophehad40 ,i know not if the reader can understand these verses2 ,i must candidly confess ,i am wholly unable to attach any meaning whatever to them4 ,another puzzle will be seen in ,ecclesiastes1 vii41 #bg-bi1 but probably the translation is in great measure responsible for the obscurity of this passage4 ,the preacher says3 8,behold1 this have ,i found1 counting one by one to find out the account2 which yet my soul seeketh1 but ,i find not3 one man among a thousand have ,i found1 but a woman among all those have ,i not found40 ,it would be no easy matter to make out what the preacher 8has found10 which requires such a blowing of trumpets4 ,the original ,hebrew may throw some light upon his meaning1 but ,i am certain that if any candidate for the civil service had written those verses1 no examiner would commend their perspicuity4 ,,part ,,iii4--,,second ,,division4 ,,scripture ,,contradicts ,,scripture4 ,in the former part of this division numerous examples have been brought together to prove that the scope of ,scripture in one place is not reconcilable with the statement given in another2 it now remains to go one step further1 and show that one ,scripture positively contradicts another4 ,in the former part the passages alluded to are obviously in error2 in this part one text will be contrasted with another contradictory text1 but it will not be possible to pronounce which is right1 or whether both are not equally in fault4 ,it will suffice in many cases simply to set one statement against another statement in separate columns1 and leave the reader to form his own judgment2 but in some few instances a remark or two will be given to point out the scope of the error to which attention is directed4 ,gen4 vi41 #ai1 #bj4 ,gen4 vii41 #b4 ,the direction given by ,god to ,this plain1 positive direction is ,noah was--8,of every living thing altered in the very next chapter1 of all flesh1 two of every sort and a distinction is made between shalt thou bring into the ark clean and unclean animals3 8,of 4 4 4 they shall be male and its every clean beast thou shalt take female2 of fowls after their to thee by sevens1 the male and kind1 and of cattle after their his female40 kind1 of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind1 two of ,seven pairs 7or #ad animals7 is a every sort shall come unto thee very wide deviation from the to keep them alive40 direction1 two only of every sort shall be taken into the ark to ,nothing can be more explicit4 ,it keep them alive4 is even expressly said that the cattle were not to exceed two2 it was to be two 8of all flesh20 two of 8every sort40 ,gen4 xlvi41 #bg2 ,deut4 x41 #bb4 ,acts1 vii41 #ad4 ,in the books of ,moses we are more ,by what authority does the martyr than once told that all the souls ,stephen increase this positive of the house of ,jacob which came assertion by the addition of five into ,egypt were 8three score and more8 saying 8all the kindred of ten40 ,jacob which came into ,egypt were three score and #ae souls40 ,we read in ,gen4 xlvi41 #bf1 that the number1 exclusive of ,joseph and his two sons1 who were already in ,egypt1 and of ,jacob himself1 the founder of the race1 8all the souls were three score and six20 but including these four1 the number amounted to 8three score and ten40 ,by adding together the names set down in ,gen4 xlvi41 #ae1 #ah1 #bb1 #be1 it will be found that the number amounts to #gj2 the five1 therefore1 added by ,stephen1 had no existence4 #a ,sam41 xxx41 #a-aj1 #ag4 #a ,chron41 xii41 #bj-bb4 ,the ,amalekites burnt ,ziklag1 and ,how is this transaction recorded drove off the women as captives4 by the chronicler8 ,when ,david ,three days afterwards ,david and reached ,ziklag1 eight captains 8his men0 came to the place and 8of thousands0 came to him1 and saw the calamity which had helped him against the ,amalekite befallen it4 ,david consulted the raiders1 and so many men flocked ephod1 and was told to pursue the to his standard to help him1 that 8rovers10 for he should not only his army was 8a great host1 like overtake them1 but should recover the host of ,god40 all that they had taken captive4 8,so ,david went1 he and the six ,certainly it seems very hundred men that were with him1 improbable that #djj men should be and came to the brook ,besor40 able to extirpate the whole army ,here ,david left behind #bjj of the of the ,amalekites which must have men1 and with the remaining #djj been pretty numerous1 seeing #djj overtook the spoilers1 and men mounted on camels managed to extirpated them1 for 8he smote escape2 but these #djj are spoken them from the twilight even unto of as mere ciphers1 for ,david and the evening of the next day1 and his men slew all the whole army1 there escaped not a man of them1 except these few young men who save #djj who fled on camels40 were on camels4 #b ,sam41 ii41 #aj4 #b ,sam41 ii41 #aa4 ,ishbosheth1 the rival king of ,in the very next verse we are ,david1 is said to have reigned informed that ,david reigned two years2 and during these two seven years and a half over years1 ,david reigned over ,judah ,judah only1 during all which time only4 ,ishbosheth reigned over the rest of the tribes4 #b ,sam41 viii41 #d1 #e4 #a ,chron41 xviii41 #d4 ,david1 says the writer of this ,in the corresponding passage book1 took from ,hadadezer1 787 recorded in the book of ,king of ,zobah1 #a1jjj chariots1 ,chronicles1 we are told that the and seven hundred horsemen1 and number of horsemen was not #gjj1 #bb1jjj footmen4 but seven thousand4 ,the name of the king is here called ,hadarezer4 #b ,sam41 x41 #f1 #ah4 #a ,chron41 xix41 #ah4 ,hadarezer hired #cc1jjj ,syrians to ,in the book of ,chronicles ,david oppose ,david2 but ,david came is said to have slain seven against the allied army and 8slew thousand men1 which fought in seven hundred chariots of the chariots1 and forty thousand ,syrians1 and forty thousand footmen4 horsemen40 #b ,sam41 xxiv41 #i4 #a ,chron41 xxi41 #e4 ,the 8fighting men0 at the close ,in the book of ,chronicles the of ,david's reign are stated in number of fighting men is even the book of ,samuel to have been more astounding4 ,it is given as #a1cjj1jjj 7672 of these #hjj1jjj #a1egj1jjj2 of which #a1ajj1jjj were of ,israel1 and #ejj1jjj of belonged to ,israel1 and #dgj1jjj ,judah4 to ,judah4 #b ,sam41 xxiv41 #ac4 #a ,chron41 xxi41 #ab4 ,when ,david numbered the people1 a ,according to ,chronicles1 the choice of three evils was given choice was3 three years of him4 ,according to ,samuel1 the famine1 and not seven4 evils were3 seven years of famine1 three months pursuit by his enemies1 or three days' pestilence4 #b ,sam41 xxiv41 #bd4 ,chron41 xxi41 #be4 ,in the book of ,samuel1 ,david is ,in the book of ,chronicles1 he is said to have given to ,araunah for said to have given for it #fjj the threshing-floor fifty shekels of gold #edg #ajs44 shekels of silver #e #acs4 #f;d44 #a ,kgs41 vii41 #bf4 #b ,chron41 iv41 #e4 ,according to the book of ,kings1 ,according to the book of ,solomon's brazen laver held #b1jjj ,chronicles1 it held #c1jjj baths baths #ae1jjj gallons4 about #bb1ejj gallons4 #b ,kgs41 viii41 #bf4 #b ,chron41 xxii41 #b4 ,the writer of the book of ,kings ,we are here informed that ,ahaziah tells us that ,ahaziah was #bb was #db when he began to reign1 years old when he began to reign1 and not #bb4 ,both agree in the and he reigned one year4 length of his reign4 #b ,kgs41 xiv41 #g4 #b ,chron41 xxv41 #aa-ab4 ,in the book of ,kings1 ,amaziah is ,in the book of ,chronicles he is said to have slain #aj1jjj said to have slain twice that ,edomites in the ,valley of ,salt4 number3 #aj1jjj he smote1 and #aj1jjj he cast down from the top of a rock1 whereby 8they were all broken in pieces0 767 #b ,kgs41 xxiv41 #h4 #b ,chron41 xxxvi41 #i4 ,the author of the book of ,kings ,the author of the book of tells us that 8,jehoiachin was ,chronicles says that 8,jehoiachin eighteen years old when he was eight years old when he began to reign1 and he reigned began to reign1 and he reigned in ,jerusalem three months40 three months and ten days in ,jerusalem40 #a ,chron41 xxii41 #ad4 #a ,chron41 xxix41 #d4 ,david1 we are here told1 ,in this chapter the bequest is bequeathed to ,solomon for the stated to have been only #c1jjj temple the fabulous sum of talents of gold1 and #g1jjj of #ajj1jjj talents of gold1 and a silver4 ,this would amount to million talents of silver4 ,in #aff1fej1jjj ,english money4 ,a ,english money this would be seven good round sum for a petty state thousand million sterling 7say not bigger than ,yorkshire1 but #g1jjj1jjj1jjj674 still considerably reduced from that given in the previous record4 #b ,chron4 iii41 #ae4 ,jeremiah lii41 #ba1 #bb4 ,according to the chronicler the ,jeremiah tells us the shaft of height of the two pillars made by each was only #ah cubits high4 ,he ,solomon for the temple was #ce agrees in the height of the cubits in the shaft1 on which was chapiter 7five cubits74 a chapiter of five cubits4 ,according to ,jeremiah the entire ,altogether about #hj feet66 height was about #dj feet1 or half that of the chronicler4 ,jeremiah lii41 #bh-cj4 ,ezra ii41 #fd4 ,the 8prophet0 informs us that the ,ezra states that of the captives total number of captives taken taken to ,babylon only #db1cfj were from ,judah to ,babylon was only willing to return4 ,all the rest #d1fjj4 ,a modest number enough1 preferred to remain where they compared with the number of were4 ,no doubt ,ezra would give fighting men1 which averaged us to understand that more #cjj1jjj1 according to the ,bible remained in ,babylon than went up historians4 to the land of their fathers4 ,the 8prophet0 has made a mistake in his sum4 ,the three captivities were #c1cbj #hcb #gded1hig1 not #d1fjj4 ,one is puzzled to understand how #d1jjj captives should have so stripped the kingdom as to leave it a wilderness2 we find hundreds of thousands falling in a single battle without exhausting the country at all4 ,matt4 xvii41 #a-b4 ,luke ix41 #bh4 ,here we read 8,after six days ,luke says 8,about an eight days ,jesus taketh ,peter1 ,james1 and after 4 4 4 he took ,peter1 ,john1 ,john1 and bringeth them up into a and ,james1 and went up into a high mountain 4 4 4 and was mountain1 and was transfigured40 transfigured before them40 ,mark vi41 #dj4 ,luke ix41 #ad4 ,mark says of the #ejjj who were ,luke says that ,jesus directed his fed with five barley loaves and disciples 8to make them sit down two fishes3 8,they sat down in by fifties in a company40 ranks1 by hundreds and by fifties40 ,these last two examples are not very weighty1 but in a book which professes to be inspired1 and demands unreserved and unconditional belief1 we expect minute accuracy4 ,the argument we advance is accumulative4 ,probably no book of good reputation has so many contradictory passages as the ,bible2 the examples referred to in this pamphlet form but a small part of what might be brought forward1 if we allowed ourselves a larger space4 ,the examples given above are more or less connected with figures4 ,the rest of the examples to be stated are independent of such sources of error4 ,a few shall be given in detail and others in parallel columns4 ,gen41 i41 #bg4 ,adam and ,eve1 we are here told1 were created on the sixth day4 ,the words are quite explicit1 8male and female created he them1 and ,god blessed them 4 4 4 and the evening and the morning were the sixth day40 ,we are little prepared to hear in the very next chapter that ,god did not create them a male and female on the sixth day1 and of course did not bless them4 ,what is still more strange is that the chapter opens with the words3 8,thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them1 and on the seventh day ,god ended his work which he had made40 ,according to v4 #ba we find that ,god did not rest from his work at the close of the sixth day1 nor was his work ended1 nor was woman yet made2 for after this 8rest10 or during this 8sabbath10 we are not told which1 ,adam being thrown into a deep sleep1 one of his ribs was abstracted1 and out of this rib was ,eve made4 ,gen41 iv4 #ad4 ,after ,cain had killed his brother ,abel he was 8driven by ,god from the face of the earth20 and ,cain said3 8,my punishment is greater than ,i can bear 4 4 4 ,i shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth1 and it shall come to pass that everyone that findeth me shall slay me40 ,one would suppose from this that the world was populated at the time1 and not that ,cain was the first-born of the human race4 ,gen41 xlix41 #aj4 8,the sceptre shall not depart from ,judah until ,shiloh come40 ,we are told that ,shiloh the peaceful one means 8the son of peace10 the ,messiah1 ,jesus ,christ4 ,if so1 how thoroughly did facts contradict this prophecy4 ,judah had no sceptre till ,david's time1 #fej years after these words were spoken2 it held the sceptre #dfj years1 and it departed from ,judah #ehj years before ,shiloh came4 ,exodus1 xx4 ,the chapter contains the decalogue read in the ,anglican churches every ,sunday morning4 ,moses broke the first pair of stone tables1 but having prepared two others ,jehovah 8wrote upon them the words that were on the first tables40 ,by comparing ,exod4 xxxiv4 with ,exod4 xx41 it will be found that there is very little resemblance between the first and second decalogue4 ,only three of the ten commandments are at all alike1 the other seven of the first pair of tables find no counterpart in the second4 #a ,sam41 ix41 #b4 ,saul is called 8a choice young man and a goodly10 yet had he at the time a son in man's estate4 #a ,sam41 xv41 #g-bj4 ,saul positively affirms that he had 8utterly destroyed all the ,amalekites1 except ,agag10 and him ,samuel 8hewed to pieces40 ,some twenty years after this extirpation1 ,david is appointed to destroy the very same people1 and he also 8smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day1 and there escaped not a man of them1 save #djj young men1 which fled on camels40 7#a ,sam4 xxx41 #ag47 7,see also #a ,chron41 iv41 #da-dc47 #a ,sam41 xvi41 #ah4 ,when ,david was introduced to king ,saul1 he is described as 8a mighty valiant man1 and a man of war20 but in the next chapter he is called a 8stripling unpracticed in arms10 and unused to armour4 ,in the former of these two chapters 7v4 #ba71 he is represented as ,saul's companion1 who 8stood before the king1 and ,saul loved him greatly20 in the latter 7xvii41 #ee1 #ef71 he becomes a stripling wholly unknown to the monarch and his officers1 for ,saul asks ,abner 8whose son is this youth8 and ,abner said1 ,as thy soul liveth1 ,o king1 ,i cannot tell4 ,and ,saul said1 ,inquire whose son the stripling is40 ,yet this stripling was a 8mighty man of valour10 who had actually been ,saul's 8armour bearer0 and beloved companion4 ,he had lived with ,saul1 had played to him in his moody fits1 and charmed away his ill-temper1 had been a cause of jealousy to the king1 who had even tried to kill him1 and yet neither ,saul nor ,abner had ever seen him or known his name4 #b ,sam41 viii41 #ag4 ,the writer says there were two high priests during the rebellion of ,david1 one elected by ,saul and the other by ,david3 they were1 8,zadok son of ,ahitub1 and ,ahimelech son of ,abiathar40 ,if anyone will read the narrative with tolerable care he will see that ,ahimelech was dead1 having been slain by ,doeg when he put the city of ,nob to the sword 7#a ,sam4 xxii41 #ah72 besides ,ahimelech was not the son but the father of ,abiathar1 7#a ,sam4 xxii41 #bj2 xxiii41 #f71 and the father of ,ahimelech was ,ahitub1 a 8fact0 repeated three times in as many verses1 in #a ,sam4 xxii41 #i-ab4 ,this blunder about ,ahimelech has been copied into other places1 for example1 #a ,sam4 xx41 #be2 #a ,kings iv41 #d2 #a ,chronicles xviii41 #af1 but there cannot be a shadow of doubt that ,abiathar1 and not ,ahimelech1 was the high priest appointed by ,david3 first1 because ,abiathar fled to ,david for safety2 secondly1 because he was the high priest during the entire reign of ,david2 and finally1 because he was deposed by ,solomon1 who told him he would have put him to death if he had not served before ,david4 7#a ,kings ii41 #bf47 ,jeremiah1 xxii41 #bi1 #cj4 8,o earth1 earth1 earth60 exclaims the prophet1 8hear the word of the ,lord--,thus saith the ,lord3 ,write ye this man ,coniah childless40 ,according to #a ,chronicles1 iii41 #ag1 #ah1 ,coniah1 or ,je-coniah had eight sons1 viz3 ,assir1 ,salathiel1 ,malchiram1 ,pedaiah1 ,shenazar1 ,jecamiah1 ,hoshama1 and ,nedabiah4 ,jeremiah1 xxxvi41 #cj4 ,jehovah told ,jeremiah that ,jehoiakim 8should have none to sit on the throne of ,david30 but we are told 7#b ,chronicles xxxvi41 #h7 that his son succeeded him1 and after his son his brother4 ,ezekiel1 xxx41 #ac4 ,this and the two following chapters speak of the conquest of ,egypt by ,babylon4 ,the writer says that the country should be made desolate from north to south1 and that there should be 8no more a prince of ,egypt40 ,not one word of this corresponds with the known history of ,egypt4 ,herodotus does not give the slightest hint of such a calamity4 ,merchants frequented the country without interruption long after that1 and if the people had been scattered1 the cities utterly wasted for #dj years1 and 8no king had succeeded to the throne10 it must have been known4 ,the silence of historians on this point is a most conclusive proof that the logic of fact did not accord with the word of prophecy4 ,the same may be said of the ,pharaoh drowned in the ,red ,sea4 ,no history confirms this tale1 and no king of ,egypt can be made to tally with the catastrophe4 ,but ,egypt was not an insignificant kingdom like ,judah1 which no one knew about2 it was the foremost kingdom of the world1 and if one of its kings had been drowned in the sea with all his host1 some mention must have been made thereof4 ,,genealogy ,,of ,,jesus ,,christ4 ,take another example4 ,both ,matthew and ,luke labour to prove the genealogy of ,christ from ,david4 ,luke traces ,joseph to ,adam1 through ,david 7iii41 #bc-cf71 and ,matthew gives the descendants of ,david down to 8,joseph1 the husband of ,mary40 ,the object of both is to show that ,jesus1 through ,joseph1 came in the direct line1 and was therefore of the lineage of ,david4 ,the interpolated miraculous conception1 abandoned by biblical scholars1 #ec utterly stultifies the purpose of these pedigrees4 ,matthew and ,luke 8prove0 that ,jesus was of the lineage of ,david because ,joseph1 the husband of ,mary1 was in the direct line4 ,the miraculous conception goes to show that ,joseph was not the father of ,jesus1 and consequently that ,jesus was not of the line of ,david at all4 ,here1 then1 is a dilemma3--if ,jesus was the son of ,joseph his divinity must be given up2 if he was not the son of ,joseph1 he was not of the line of ,david1 and his ,messiahship must be given up4 ,by casting an eye over the two genealogies1 it will be seen that they differ in all points except at certain nodes1 and the usual answer is1 that ,luke's is the pedigree of ,joseph1 and ,matthew's that of ,mary4 ,but there is not the slightest indication of this difference in the ,gospel text2 both profess to give the genealogy of ,joseph4 ,matthew says1 8,jacob begat ,joseph1 the husband of ,mary1 of whom ,jesus was born0 7i41 #af72 there cannot be a shadow of doubt that this is meant for the pedigree of ,joseph1 the husband of ,mary4 ,if not1 the genealogy was that of ,rahab the harlot1 for verse #e tells us that ,boaz was the husband of ,rahab1 of whom ,obed was born4 ,so again in verse #f1 ,bathsheba is given as the wife of ,david1 and mother of ,solomon4 ,luke says 7iii41 #bc71 ,jesus was as was supposed the son of ,joseph1 the son of ,heli2 and does not even mention ,mary4 ,the three words in brackets are a mere gloss1 and could not have been written by ,luke1 as they would destroy the very thing he was trying to prove3 ,jesus was the son of ,joseph1 ,joseph of ,heli1 and ,heli was a descendant of ,david1 ,abraham1 and ,seth4 ,if ,jesus was not really the son of ,joseph1 why trouble himself to show that ,joseph was in the line of ,david1 ,abraham1 and ,seth8 ,but it is quite evident that ,matthew and ,luke supposed ,jesus to be the son of ,joseph4 ,so did the neighbours of ,joseph and ,mary1 for they said 7,matt1 xiii41 #ee71 8,is not this the carpenter's son80 ,it never oozed out in his native village that ,mary's son was other than her son in the usual course of nature4 ,even ,mary herself says to ,jesus 8thy father and ,i have sought thee sorrowing0 7,luke ii41 #dh72 ,mary calls ,joseph the father1 and not the reputed father1 of ,jesus1 and never seems to have had a shadow of doubt about it4 ,so was it with the disciples2 their adherence to ,jesus had nothing to do with his divinity4 ,they none of them ever hint at such a notion4 ,philip said to ,nathaniel 8,we have found him of whom ,moses spoke1 ,jesus of ,nazareth1 the son of ,joseph0 7,john i41 #de72 not ,jesus of ,nazareth1 the son of ,jehovah1 but ,jesus of ,nazareth1 the son of ,joseph4 ,all were anxious to prove his lineage from ,david1 and none cared to set aside so very important a point4 ,of course they spoke of him as 8,christ10 but ,christ was merely an accepted title for 8,king of the theocracy10 and in order that ,jesus might be the 8,christ10 it was absolutely essential that he should be a descendant of ,david4 #ed ,the interpolated legend of the miraculous conception is a fatal blunder1 and if accepted would utterly destroy the claim of ,jesus to the ,messiahship4 ,gen41 ii41 #ag4 ,gen41 iii41 #ag-ai4 ,the ,lord ,god said to ,adam1 8of ,unto ,adam ,god said1 8,because thou the tree of the knowledge of good hast eaten of the tree of which ,i and evil thou shalt not eat of commanded thee not to eat not it2 for in the day that thou thou shalt surely die1 but in eatest thereof thou shalt surely the sweat of thy face shalt thou die40 eat bread1 till thou return unto the ground40 ,two things strike us in reading the latter passage3 7#a7 ,adam did not 8surely die0 on the day he ate of the forbidden fruit2 and 7#b7 there is not the slightest hint to justify the common dogma that death was the penalty incurred by ,adam1 but simply toil--toil till he died4 8,in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground40 ,on the subject of death it may be here remarked that the scripture makes mention of thousands and hundreds of thousands1 who are not to die at all4 ,we have the case of ,enoch 7,gen41 v41 #bd71 the case of ,elijah 7#b ,kings1 ii41 #aa71 and all the inhabitants of the earth who will be alive 8at the last day0 7#a ,corinthians1 xv41 #ea74 ,either death is not 8the wages of sin10 or these persons are not of the race of ,adam4 ,the 8curse0 is not transmitted to them2 if not to them1 why to others8 ,and what becomes of the dogma of ,adam and ,christ as federal heads8 ,the whole theory is utterly overturned4 #a ,kings viii41 #i2 #b ,chron4 v4 #aj4 ,hebrews ix41 #d4 ,the historic books of the ,old ,the writer of this book affirms ,testament agree in the fact that that besides the tables of the there was 8nothing in the ark covenant1 there were in the ark save the two tables which ,moses 8the golden pot that had manna1 put therein at ,horeb40 and ,aaron's rod that budded40 ,the pot of manna and ,aaron's rod ought to have been in the ark1 inasmuch as ,moses was told to place them there 7,exod4 xvi41 #cc1 #cd42 ,numbers xvii41 #aj72 but this is only another instance of the inconsistency complained of4 #a ,kings1 xxii41 #dh1 #di4 #b ,chron4 xx41 #ce1 #cf4 ,the writer tells us that ,in the ,book of ,kings we are told 8,jehoshaphat made ships of that ,jehoshaphat would not allow ,tarshish i4e4 ,spanish ,ahaziah to join in the adventure galleons to go to ,ophir for to ,ophir4 ,the chronicler says gold4 4 4 4 ,then said ,ahaziah to that 8,jehoshaphat joined ,ahaziah0 ,jehoshaphat1 let my servants go in making these galleons4 with thy servants in the ships1 but he would not40 #b ,kings1 ix41 #aa-ac4 ,hosea1 i41 #d4 ,the royal historian distinctly ,hosea says3 8,the ,lord said ,i will says that ,jehu was expressly avenge the blood of ,jezreel upon raised by ,god to the throne of the house of ,jehu1 and 7because ,israel to extirpate the wicked he extirpated the house of ,ahab7 house of ,ahab1 and 8avenge the ,i will cause to cease the kingdom blood of the prophets shed by of the house of ,israel40 ,jezebel40 #b ,kings1 ix41 #bg4 #b ,chron41 xxii41 #i4 ,the book of ,kings informs us that ,the chronicler says he was caught when ,jehu fell on the race of by the agents of ,jehu 8hid in ,ahab1 ,ahaziah 8fled to ,megiddo1 ,samaria10 and being taken captive and there died40 to ,jehu1 was then slain4 #b ,kings1 x41 #ag4 #b ,kings1 x41 #aa1 #ab4 ,here the slaughter of the house ,here it is placed in ,jezreel1 and of ,ahab is placed in ,samaria4 after ,jehu had slain 8all that remained of the house of ,ahab1 all his great men1 and his kinsfolk1 and his priests 4 4 4 he arose and departed and came to ,samaria40 ,this agrees with ,hosea1 i41 #d1 cited above4 #a ,chron41 xi41 #a-c4 #b ,sam41 ii41 #a-aa4 ,on the death of ,saul we are here ,here we are informed that ,david told that 8,then all ,israel and his men went to ,hebron at the gathered themselves to ,david unto death of ,saul1 8and the men of ,hebron1 saying1 4 4 4 thou shalt ,judah came and anointed him be ruler over 4 4 4 ,israel 4 4 4 king over the house of ,judah40 and ,david made a covenant with them in ,hebron 4 4 4 and they ,but ,abner took ,ishbosheth1 son of anointed ,david king over ,israel40 ,saul1 and made him king over all ,israel4 ,david was for seven years and six months king over the house of ,judah only4 #b ,chron41 xxiv41 #bb4 #b ,chron41 xxiv41 #be4 ,joash1 it is said1 8remembered ,here we are told that ,joash slew not the kindness of ,jehoiada his not the son of ,jehoiada1 but foster father1 but slew his the sons2 for the servants of son10 i4e41 ,zechariah the ,joash conspired against him not ,high ,priest1 see v4 #bj4 for the blood of ,zechariah1 but 8for the blood of the sons of ,jehoiada40 #b ,kings1 xii41 #ac4 #b ,chron41 xxiv41 #ad4 ,when ,jehoash repaired the temple ,the chronicler contradicts this he placed a money-box beside the assertion point blank1 and altar for voluntary affirms that with the money so contributions1 but 7says the collected 8were made vessels for writer7 there was not money the house of the ,lord1 vessels to enough collected to make 8bowls minister and to offer1 and of silver1 snuffers1 basins1 spoons1 and vessels of gold and trumpets1 nor any vessels of silver40 gold or silver40 #b ,chron41 xxxiii41 #ae4 #b ,kings1 xxiii41 #f4 ,manasseh is represented as having ,but in the reign of ,manasseh's taken the strange gods and idols grandson1 whose name was ,josiah1 out of the house of the ,lord 4 4 4 these strange gods and idols were and of having 8cast them out of still in the temple1 for ,josiah the city40 8took them out of the house of the ,lord 4 4 4 and stamped them to powder40 ,psalm1 lxxii41 #bj4 #a ,chron41 xvi41 #g-cf4 ,we read1 here 8the prayers ,here is given a psalm which the i4e41 the psalms of ,david1 chronicler says 8,david delivered the son of ,jesse1 are ended40 first40 ,from verse #h to #bb is ,psalm cv41 #a-ae2 the next #aa verses are ,psalm xcvi42 and the remaining verses are ,psalm cvi41 #a1 #dg1 #dh4 ,in the 8headings0 #ah of the psalms1 after the lxxii41 are ascribed to ,david1 viz41 ciii41 cviii41 cix41 cx41 cxxii41 cxxiv41 cxxxi41 cxxxiii41 cxxxviii41 cxxxix41 cxl4-cxlv4 ,matt41 i41 #bc4 ,matt41 i41 #af4 ,matthew says the birth of ,jesus ,the son of ,mary was ,jesus1 called fulfilled the prophecy of ,isaiah the ,christ4 7vii41 #ad71 8,behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son1 and shall call his name ,emmanuel0 ,god with us4 7#a7 ,the child referred to by ,isaiah was to be still an infant when ,rezin and ,pekah should be cut off4 ,isaiah says1 8,before the child ,emmanuel shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good1 ,syria and ,israel shall be deprived of both her kings40 ,it required no great penetration to foretell that the league of ,ahaz with ,tiglath-pileser the great king1 would soon annihilate the petty princes of ,damascus and ,israel4 7#b7 ,all scholars1 both ,jewish and ,christian1 agree that the child referred to was the expected infant of ,isaiah himself4 ,within two years ,pekah fell by the hand of ,hoshea1 and ,resin by the sword of the ,assyrians4 7#c7 ,the ,jews affirm that the word virgin almah does not of necessity mean a maiden or unmarried woman4 ,if ,isaiah in the text referred to his wife1 she was already mother of at least one child two years old4 ,joel1 i41 #h1 applies the word to a widow advanced in life3 8,lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth10 see ,prov41 xxx41 #ai4 ,matthew1 v41 #a4 ,luke1 vi41 #ag4 ,jesus 8seeing the multitude went ,jesus came down with his up into a mountain1 and when he disciples1 and stood in the was set1 he opened his mouth plain1 and said3 c4 ,here and taught the people40 ,here follow the beatitudes4 follow the beatitudes4 ,matt41 viii41 #bh4 ,mark1 v41 #a1 #b2 ,luke1 viii41 #bf1 #bg4 8,when ,jesus was come to the other side of the lake into the 8,when they came over unto the country of the ,gergesenes1 other side of the sea into the there met him two possessed country of the ,gadarenes1 there with devils1 coming out of the met him out of the tombs a tombs40 certain man which had devils a long time40 ,matt1 xx41 #bj1 #ba4 ,mark1 x41 #ce-cg4 8,the mother of ,zebedee's 8,james and ,john the sons of children 4 4 4 said unto ,jesus1 ,zebedee came unto ,jesus saying1 grant that these my two sons may grant unto us that we may sit one sit1 the one on thy right hand on thy right hand and the other and the other on the left in thy on thy left in thy glory40 kingdom40 ,matt41 xxii41 #df4 ,mark1 xii41 #cd4 ,here we are told that ,jesus ,mark gives a different version4 puzzled the ,pharisees with the ,he says a certain scribe asked question1 8,how can ,christ be ,jesus1 8,which is the first ,david's son1 seeing that ,david commandment of all80 ,and when calls him lord80 8,and no man10 ,jesus answered the scribe well1 adds the writer1 8from that day adds1 8,no man after that durst forth1 durst ask him any more ask him any question40 questions40 ,luke1 xx41 #dj4 ,luke agrees with neither of his brother evangelists4 ,he states the matter thus3 ,the ,sadducees tell ,jesus of a woman who married seven times1 and ask whose wife of the seven she would be in the resurrection4 ,after ,jesus had replied1 some of the scribes remarked1 8,master1 thou hast well said10 and ,luke adds1 8after that they durst not ask him any question40 ,which is right would be hard to say4 ,only one can be so4 ,matt41 xxvi41 #f1 c42 ,mark1 xiv41 ,john1 xii41 #a1 c4 #c1 c4 ,john places this anointing in the ,matthew and ,mark say that ,jesus house of ,lazarus1 and says the was banqueting in the house of woman's name was ,mary1 who took a ,simon the ,leper1 when a woman pound of spikenard for the came and anointed him with purpose4 spikenard4 ,there cannot be a doubt that all these refer to the same event or tradition4 ,it was just prior to the 8entry into ,jerusalem0 which brought about the trial and condemnation4 ,it is wholly incredible that this anointing with spikenard should have been done twice at about the same time4 ,matt41 xxvi41 #cd4 ,mark1 xiv41 #cj4 ,jesus said to ,simon ,peter3 ,jesus said3 8,verily ,i say unto 8,verily ,i say unto thee that this thee that this day1 even in this night before the cock crow1 night1 before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice40 twice1 thou shalt deny me thrice40 ,see also ,luke1 xxii41 #cd2 and ,john xiii41 #ch4 ,matt41 xxvi41 #gc4 ,john1 xviii41 #bf4 ,matthew describes the third ,john says it was not 8they that 8denial0 thus3 8,after a while stood by10 but 8one of the came they that stood by and servants of the ,high ,priest1 said to ,peter1 surely thou art whose ear ,peter had cut off40 one of them1 for thy speech ,this servant said1 8,did not ,i see bewrayeth thee40 thee in the garden with him10 and not that 8thy speech bewrayeth ,mark and ,luke give substantially thee40 the same account4 ,matt1 xxvi41 #gd4 ,mark xiv41 #fh-gb4 ,matthew1 in accordance with his ,mark has another tale to make dictum1 makes ,simon ,peter deny good1 and says that ,simon ,peter thrice any knowledge of ,jesus1 denied once1 and the cock crew and1 having so done1 8immediately once2 after this ,peter denied the cock crew40 twice more1 and then the cock crew a second time4 ,matt1 xxvii41 #e4 ,acts1 i41 #ah4 ,matthew says that ,judas1 after he ,simon ,peter says1 8,this man had betrayed his master1 8went ,judas purchased a field with and hanged himself40 the reward of iniquity1 and falling headlong1 he burst asunder1 and all his bowels gushed out40 ,simon ,peter says that ,judas bought a field with the money he received from the priests4 ,the evangelist says he flung the money down in the temple1 and the priests bought with it the potter's field to bury strangers in4 ,what is meant by 8falling headlong0 is very difficult to make out4 ,matt1 xxviii41 #b-e4 ,mark xvi41 #d1 #e4 ,matthew tells us that an angel ,mark says the stone was rolled 8rolled back the stone from the away1 and the visitors on door of the sepulchre1 and sat 8entering into the sepulchre saw upon it2 and the angel said1 the angel sitting on the right #8,fear not 4 4 4'0 side4 ,and he said10 c4 ,luke xxiv41 #d says there were two ,john xxi41 #a4 ,we are told that men who stood4 ,they had ,mary saw two angels sitting2 8shining garments10 and they one at the head and the other at said1 8,why seek ye the living the feet4 among the dead80 ,mark x41 #df2 ,matt1 xx41 #bi4 ,luke xviii41 #ce4 ,mark says1 and ,matthew agrees ,luke says it was not on leaving with him1 that ,jesus met with ,jericho1 but as he was about to ,bartimeus1 the blind beggar1 on enter the city4 leaving ,jericho4 ,mark xiv41 #fi4 ,luke xxii41 #eh4 ,in regard to the second denial of ,luke tells us the person was not ,simon ,peter1 ,mark says 8,a maid a woman1 but a man2 and ,peter saw him again1 and said to them answered 8,man1 ,i am not10 i4e41 that stood by1 this is one of not one of the disciples4 them40 ,luke1 ix41 #a4 ,luke1 ix41 #ch-dj4 ,here we read that ,jesus 8called ,we are hardly prepared in the his twelve disciples together1 same chapter to hear that the and gave them power and authority disciples had not power to cast over all devils1 and to cure out devils1 and cure diseases1 all diseases40 for a man says to ,jesus1 8,master1 a spirit taketh my son and teareth him2 and ,i brought him to thy disciples to cast it out1 but they could not40 ,john xix41 #f4 ,john xviii41 #ca4 ,when ,jesus was brought before the ,this is very strange1 seeing the ,roman procurator1 ,pilate said to ,jews had just said to ,pilate1 8,it the ,jews1 8,take ye him1 and is not lawful for us to put any crucify him40 man to death40 ,would any ,roman procurator have told the ,jews to crucify a criminal1 knowing that it was strictly forbidden by the ,roman senate8 ,,conclusion4 ,the apology that a certain degree of variance is a proof of independent testimony is quite beside the present question1 and so is the argument of ,dr4 ,whately about ,napoleon4 ,no doubt half-a-dozen correspondents describing any event in the late war would dwell on different incidents1 and see matters from different stand-points2 one would have a bias towards the ,french and another towards the ,prussians1 one would be cast in a ,tory mould and another would have ,radical proclivities1 one would see with military eyes and another with the eyes of a civilian1 one would look towards the end and another would limit his vision to the present action2 but who claims for these correspondents divine inspiration8 who believes that they are all baptized into one spirit1 and that the spirit which guides them has guaranteed that they shall speak the truth1 the whole truth1 and nothing but the truth8 ,they write as human beings1 with fallible judgments1 and all the prejudices of caste1 education1 interest1 and special advocacy2 with so many things to bias judgment1 no doubt there will be considerable variety of statement1 but all this in no wise applies to the ,bible writers--they are not supposed to write from any of these motives1 but to be guided and directed by one and the same motive1 and all to be led by the ,spirit of unerring truth4 ,with such writers there may be considerable verbal difference1 but no substantial variety2 there may be shades of variety1 and different incidents may strike different eye-witnesses1 but there can be no positive contradiction1 and the same incident cannot be described as two antagonistic facts4 ,if ,samuel was right when he affirmed that ,david took from the king of ,zobah #gjj horsemen1 the chronicler was wrong when he said the number was #gjjj4 ,if the chronicler was correct in saying that ,jehoiachim was only eight when he ascended the throne1 his brother chronicler was in error when he declared that he was eighteen4 ,if ,jesus was the son of ,joseph and ,joseph a descendant of ,david1 then ,jesus was of the lineage of ,david2 but if he was the son of quite another line he was not of the line of ,david4 ,if the writer of the book of ,kings was right in saying that no vessels of gold and silver were made of the money collected in the temple by ,jehoash1 the writer of the book of ,chronicles could not be correct in saying that all sorts of gold and silver vessels were made therefrom4 ,if ,matthew was right in saying that the soldiers arrayed ,jesus in a 8scarlet robe10 ,mark and ,john were wrong in pronouncing it to be a 8purple garment20 and if ,jesus said to ,peter1 before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice1 he did not say before the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice4 ,if the writers were eye and ear witnesses1 and if the guiding ,spirit of ,god brought to their remembrance what ,jesus said and did1 such discrepancies could not have occurred4 ,these contradictions1 and their number is legion1 are not the shades of variety1 the verbal differences of independent writers of truth1 they are irreconcilable statements1 one of which must be wrong1 and if both claim to be guided by the ,spirit of ,infallible ,truth1 their claim cannot be allowed4 ,it cannot be true that #bb is #db and #gjjj the same as #fjj2 but give up inspiration and place the ,bible on the same platform as any other ancient record1 then everyone is at liberty to weigh its statements and to hold fast just so much as is consistent with the advanced knowledge of science1 the general scope of experience1 and the harmony of history4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,subjects ,,of ,,twelve ,,of ,,the ,,series4 ,no4 #a4--8,on the ,identity of the ,vital and ,cosmical ,principle40 ,by ,r4 ,,lewins1 ,m4,d41 ,staff ,surgeon-,major to ,her ,majesty's ,forces4 ,no4 #b4--8,the ,physical ,theory of ,animal ,life40 ,a ,review by ,,julian4 ,no4 #c4--8,the ,nature of ,man ,identical with that of other ,animals40 ,by ,,julian4 ,no4 #d4--;,,biology versus ,,theology2 or 8,christ and the ,christian ,idea1 viewed from a ,biological standpoint40 ,by ,,julian4 ,no4 #e4--;,,biology versus ,,theology2 or 8,the ,mosaic and ,christian ,ideas wholly without ,originality40 ,by ,,julian4 ,no4 #f4--;,,biology versus ,,theology2 or 8,life on the ,basis of ,hylozoism40 ,by ,,julian4 ,no4 #g4--;,,biology versus ,,theology2 or 8,identity of the ,vital and ,cosmical ,principle1 according to ,,dr4 ,,lewins40 ,by ,,julian4 ,no4 #h4--;,,biology versus ,,theology--8,the ,mission of ,moses10 from the ,german of ,schiller4 ,annotated by ,,julian4 ,no4 #i4--;,,biology versus ,,theology--8,christ not divine nor his death vicarious40 ,by ,,julian4 ,no4 #aj4--;,,biology versus ,,theology--8,the ,cur ,meslier and his ,will10 from the ,german of ,strauss1 with ,preliminary ,remarks by ,,julian4 ,no4 #aa4--;,,biology versus ,,theology--8,the ,bible irreconcilable with science1 experience1 and even its own statements40 ,by ,,julian4 ,no4 #ab4--;,,biology versus ,,theology4--8,the ,dinner of the ,count de ,boulainvilliers from ,voltaire10 with an ,introduction by ,,julian 7in the press74 ,,footnotes4 #c ,lay ,sermons and ,reviews4 ,this paper1 8,on the ,origin of ,species10 was originally published in the 8,westminster ,review10 of ,april1 #ahfj4 #ad;a ,job xxxviii41 #h4 #ad;b 8,on the ,power1 ,wisdom1 and ,goodness of ,god as manifested in the creation of animals1 and in their history1 habits1 and instincts10 by the ,rev4 ,william ,kirby1 ,m4,a41 ,f4,r4,s41 rector of ,barham4 #ae ,the common ,hebrew cubit was about #bb inches4 ,the 8royal cubit0 was three inches longer4 ,the ,roman cubit was #ah inches4 #ai ,see ,dr4 ,davidson's ,introduction to the ,new ,testament4 ,baur1 ,zeller1 ,hilgenfeld1 c41 take the same view4 ,see also 8,biology versus ,theology10 ,no4 ,i4 #bj;a ,it is obvious that the ,book of the ,kings1 whether of ,judah or ,israel1 is not the record called the first and second ,book of ,kings in our ,bible1 for it is not unfrequently referred to in the ,chronicles1 for 8the rest of the acts0 of certain kings1 but the account in our ,books of ,kings1 in some cases at any rate1 is far more meagre than that of the ,chronicles4 ,to give one example3 #b ,chron4 xxvii41 #g1 refers us for a more detailed account to the book of the 8,kings of ,israel and ,judah10 but the record given in #b ,kings1 xv41 #cf-ch1 is far less ample than that of the ,chronicler4 ,it is no less certain that the book called 8,the ,chronicles of the ,kings of ,israel0 cannot be our books of ,chronicles1 inasmuch as they wholly omit the ,kings of ,israel1 and speak only of the ,kings of ,judah4 #bj;b ,perhaps this expression may mean 8the general scope of his preaching10 and not a book4 ,it may go for what it is worth1 and can in no wise affect the question at issue4 #bb ,take two examples of this etymology4 ,,hebrew is supposed to be derived from ,heber1 sou of ,salah1 great-grandson of ,shem1 who is called 8the father of all the children of ,heber0 7,gen4 x41 #ba-bd72 but ,abraham1 the #fth remove from ,heber1 is called a ,hebrew after he crossed over into ,canaan 7,gen4 xiv41 #ac74 ,the more probable derivation of the word is heber 7an emigrant1 one that has crossed over72 if so1 ,abraham was called a hebrew because he was a sojourner who had crossed over into the 8land of promise40 ,again1 ,,canaan is said to have been so called from ,canaan son of ,ham1 and ,canaan's eldest son was1 according to the same authority1 ,sidon1 founder of the ,sidonians1 and his other sons were founders of the ,hittites1 ,jebusites1 ,amorites1 ,girgasites1 ,hivites1 ,arkites1 ,sinites1 ,arvadites1 ,zemarites1 and ,hamathites 7,gen4 x41 #ae-ah74 ,all this is most improbable1 although in keeping with the practice of ancient chroniclers4 ,modern historians find more probable derivations in some local peculiarity or suggestive characteristic4 ,thus ,argos1 in ,greece1 is mythically derived from ,argos1 its #dth king2 but ,strabo tells us the word means a plain4 ,devonshire is not a corruption of ,debon's share or lot 7,faery ,queen ii41 #aj71 but of the ,saxon defn-afon 7deep water74 ,similarly ,canaan means low lands1 as opposed to 8,aram0 7the highlands71 and being suited to commerce from its nearness to the coast1 the word in time became a general term for 8a trader40 #bc ,arphaxad was born 8two years after the flood0 ,gen4 xi41 #aj2 at the age of #ce he had a son1 ,salah v41 #ab1 in thirty more years ,salah had his son ,eber1 and before ,pelez was born1 which was #cd years later1 the ,dispersion had taken place4 #bd ,it may be safely asserted that population1 when unchecked1 increases in a geometrical progression of such a nature as to double itself every #be years4--,encyclopdia ,britannica1 vol4 xviii41 p4 #c1 col4 ,practically1 such an instance is rare1 if not wholly uninstanced4 ,take the increase of ,england and ,wales as an example4 ,in #acgg it was #b1jib1igh1 in #adhc it was #d1fhi1jjj2 in the #ajj years1 ending with #ahjj1 the population had increased from #e1dge1jjj to #h1fge1jjj2 and in the century ending with #ahfj it increased nearly threefold1 the largest increase we have experienced4 ,in #agfj it was #f1gcf1jjj1 in #ahfa it was #bj1jfb1gbe4 #bf;a ,the average size of an ox in the herd is #fj stone 7of #h lbs471 and of a sheep six stone4 ,when the ,armistice of #bh days was lately proposed1 the supply of ,paris for the time was estimated at #cd1jjj oxen1 #h1jjj sheep1 #h1jjj swine1 #e1jjj calves1 #ajj1jjj cwt4 of salt meat1 eight million cwt4 of hay and straw1 #bjj1jjj cwt4 of meal1 and #cj1jjj cwt4 of dried vegetables4 ,for the cooking of food1 the estimate was #ajj1jjj tons of coals1 and #ad million square feet of wood4 #bf;b ,the absurdity of such an increase as even the 8small0 supposition of doubling every twenty years will be obvious to any one who will take the trouble of working out the figures for #ddj years1 which would bring us to the reign of ,david4 ,at the ,exodus the number was three millions2 if they doubled every twenty years the people in the little kingdom of ,david would have been twelve and a half trillion66 ,and if the increase of the book of ,exodus is taken as the standard the numbers must be increased a hundred-fold4 ,now the whole population of the world is somewhat more than #a1jjj millions1 so that in a space not so large as ,yorkshire1 and three-fourths wilderness1 would be gathered together more than all the inmates of all the world twelve thousand times over4 #bg;a ,the nominal limits of 8the promised land0 were the ,euphrates and ,mediterranean ,sea on the east and west1 the 8entrance of ,hamath0 and 8river of ,egypt0 on the north and south1 giving a surface of #fj1jjj square miles2 but ,sidonia and ,philistia on the west1 the land of the ,moabites and ,ammonites on the east never belonged to the kingdom of ,david1 the real extent of which was about #de miles broad and #ajj miles long4 ,yorkshire is #ij by #acj1 the principality of ,wales #fe by #aej2 so that the entire kingdom of ,david in its greatest extent was considerably smaller than ,yorkshire or ,wales1 and only one quarter of it was inhabited1 the rest being desert or wilderness4 #bg;b ,take ,prussia4 ,every ,prussian is liable to be called into military service as soon as he attains his #bjth year1 and after he has completed his #bgth year he enters the ,landwehr4 ,suppose war is proclaimed1 then every layman in ,prussia between #bj and #bg is liable to be called into the ranks1 and would constitute a standing army of #bjj1jjj strong2 by adding the ,landwehr of the first call1 #ajj1jjj more would be supplied2 and by enrolling all who have not rendered their full service to the state1 the entire amount would be increased to #fjj1jjj4 ,how absurd1 therefore1 to speak of double the number of soldiers in such a petty nation as ,judah or ,israel6 ,the entire population of ,yorkshire is less than two millions1 of ,wales not equal to 8,david's army20 yet the entire kingdom of ,david was smaller than either1 and more than three-fourths of it was uninhabited66 #ca ,our national debt is not half a quarter of this sum1 being somewhat less than #hjj millions sterling4 ,suppose an ,english historian had told us that a king of wealthy ,england had laid by money enough to pay off the national debt eight times1 what would be thought of the statement8 ,but suppose we had been told that one of the kings of ,wales or of ,northumbria had saved all this money for a church1 would the most credulous believe it8 ,france finds it no easy matter to raise #bjj millions1 and all ,europe would be puzzled to find the money instanter1 but the king of a little territory considerably smaller than ,belgium managed to raise that sum thirty-five times over4 #cf ,ahaziah was also called ,jehoahaz and ,azariah4 #dd ,see ,virgil1 ,geor4 i41 #ahd1 #ahe2 neid1 iv41 #djb-djf2 ,horace1 ,satires1 bk4 i41 s4 i41 #cc c4 #ec ,see ,no4 ,,ix4 of this ,series4 #ed ,ut apud ,persas ,arsaces1 apud ,romanos ,csar1 apud ,egyptios ,pharao1 ita apud ,judos ,christus communi nomine rex appellatur4 ,ps4 ,clem4 ,recog4 i41 #de1 p4 #dig4